11/28/2023
Hello Fresh/Factor 75 made a presentation to the Aurora City Council. You can watch the video of the presentation as well as a news segment broadcast by CBS2.
CBS News: Suburban Chicago residents upset over food factory smells
10/08/2023
As of this day, there has been NO response from Factor/HelloFresh about the ineffective barrier wall. No other projects, including the air scrubbers, have started.
09/18/2023
The “sound barrier” wall has not only been ineffective, but it has made the noise and vibrations worse for the closest residents. The articles below from SoundWalls.com give a good overview of why the effects have worsened:
https://soundwalls.com/do-freeway-sound-walls-work/
https://soundwalls.com/concrete-sound-walls-do-not-reduce-noise-problem/
In short, there are 2 types of sound barriers: Reflective (reflects sound back towards the source) and Absorptive (absorbs the sound). The concrete walls referenced in the above articles as well as the wall installed on the south end of the Factor facility are REFLECTIVE walls.
These walls will reflect sound back, sometimes in unpredictable directions, and will bounce back and forth between other objects (such as the side of the facility) and eventually go over the top of the fence.
The fact that an ABSORPTIVE wall was not installed is quite honestly shameful. The increased effectiveness comes at a price, however, as they are more expensive. This is just another example of “Profit over People”, where governments and corporations care more about their bottom line than the health of their employees and surrounding communities.
09/06/2023
The “sound barrier” wall project has been completed. Unfortunately, the wall has had a negligible effect on the noise from the trucks and reefers, and has had no effect on vibrations.
An initial inspection was completed by the City of Aurora on the fence. The results of the inspection are as follows:
8/25/2023 11:21:30 AM
The site inspection was conducted. The fence appears to have been constructed per the permits. There is some additional work to be completed at the base of the fence to fill in gaps. A follow-up inspection should be scheduled in the coming weeks when the remaining work is completed.
The follow-up inspection was scheduled for September 1st. As of September 6th, no results have been provided.
The new exhaust scrubbers have yet to be installed, and there is no current permit application with the City of Aurora for this project.
09/01/2023
HelloStinks has had over 2,200 unique visitors since launch. People from all over the U.S. have viewed and shared this site, as well as internationally.
Some visits are noteworthy. There have been over 20 site visits from Berlin, Germany. This is where the HelloFresh headquarters is located. Some of the IP addresses are registered to Hello Fresh, which likely means that the corporate office is aware of this site. Unfortunately, this has not seemed to have any effect on our efforts or the response from Factor.
Berlin, if you’re reading this, we need you to do an internal investigation into the Aurora IL facility. This situation is out-of-hand, and is getting worse by the day. We are sure that you don’t want any bad press, especially considering that Factor promotes healthy lifestyles and sustainability. This problem contradicts what Factor stands for.