LANSING – Responding to a report from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality showing that nearly one-third of trash dumped in Michigan comes from Canada and other states, State Representatives John Espinoza (D-Croswell) and Terry Brown (D-Pigeon) today called for Senate leaders to take action on a tough anti-trash plan that attacks the economics of the trash trade by increasing Michigan's dumping charge.
"It's time for Senate leaders to stop delaying and enact this anti-trash plan to protect our state – not the profits of the trash industry," said Espinoza, whose district is jeopardized by trash haulers coming over the Blue Water Bridge several times a day. "Failure to act means more fatal crashes, more toxic spills, and more traffic jams in our communities. The fight against Canadian and out-of-state trash is about having clean, safe places for our families to live, and that has to be a top priority for all of us."
The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) today released a report stating that trash imports from Canada and other states accounted for 29 percent of all waste disposed of in Michigan landfills in 2007. The DEQ found that the largest importer of trash into Michigan is Canada – accounting for 19 percent of the total amount of trash dumped in Michigan last year.
Overall, the DEQ report found that the amount of waste that made its way into Michigan landfills in 2007 decreased slightly from 2006. However, trash imports from states including Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Wisconsin increased by 2.52 million tons. Trash imported into Michigan from Pennsylvania showed the most dramatic increase – an astounding 771 percent.
Last year, the House passed a plan that will significantly reduce the amount of Canadian and out-of-state trash that is imported into Michigan. The anti-trash plan will:
Raise Michigan's dumping charge from the lowest in the region, attacking the economics of the trash trade and forcing trash exporters to take their waste elsewhere.
- Ban new landfills and strictly limit the expansion of existing landfills until 2012.
- Crack down on jurisdictions that send prohibited waste to Michigan, and make it easier to prosecute and punish repeat offenders with up to $10,000 in fines.
The House plan is currently stalled in the Senate.
A similar plan worked to slash imports in Pennsylvania after the state raised its dumping charge in 2002. In 2001, Pennsylvania took in 12.6 million tons of imported trash; in 2005, that amount plunged to 9.6 million tons. While Pennsylvania is benefiting from increasing its dumping charge, Michigan is seeing even more trash coming in from the Keystone State.
Brown has also sponsored a plan to return money from the increased dumping charge – expected to total up to $147 million in the first year – to local communities to pay for roads, fire and police services, and more recycling programs.
Michigan residents did their part in 2007, with the DEQ reporting that the amount of trash generated by Michigan residents declined by about 4 percent.
"We cannot keep allowing other people to put our air, land and water at risk by dumping millions of tons of their trash here – it's as simple as that," Brown said. "The people of Michigan take pride in being the Great Lakes State, and they have been waiting too long for our leaders to stand up and protect our communities' beauty and safety. Our Senate leaders need to listen to the people they serve and take action to stop our great state from becoming a giant dumping ground."