LANSING –A Canadian trash truck overturned on I-94 in St. Clair County earlier today and shut down part of the freeway during the morning rush hour, prompting State Rep. John Espinoza (D-Croswell) to call on the state Senate to pass measures that will fight the flood of out-of-state and Canadian garbage. Espinoza and his colleagues in the House passed the legislation earlier this year.
"We cannot wait any longer to enact a tough anti-trash plan that will put Michigan first," said Espinoza, whose district contains the Blue Water Bridge, a main point of entry for Canadian trash. "Our residents shouldn't have to endure dangerous roadways, toxic spills and massive traffic jams just so other people have a cheap place to dump their garbage. It is an outrage that St. Clair County has to use its resources to deal with these crashes."
The House in May passed legislation that bans new landfills and strictly limits the expansion of existing landfills until 2012. In April, the House passed legislation attacking the economics of the trash trade by increasing the state's current paltry dumping charge of 21 cents per ton. A steeper dumping charge will force Canada and other states to dump their trash elsewhere. All of these bills are still awaiting action in the Senate.
A Canadian trash truck overturned on I-94 southeast of Port Huron, and crews were still working this afternoon to clean up and reopen the highway. This is not the first time that Canadian trash trucks have caused problems, threatening public safety and draining resources of road and clean-up personnel. In December 2005, a Canadian trash truck traveling westbound on I-69 flipped in Capac, dumping garbage on the highway and closing it for half an hour. In November 2005, a Canadian trash truck struck a car in Huron Township in Wayne County, killing two men. In March 2005, a Canadian trash truck dumped human sludge in downtown Flat Rock in Wayne County.
"Michigan communities' contracts with most of these big trash haulers expire over the next few years, so it is imperative that we act now," Espinoza said. "Otherwise, we will be locked in to more years of serving as a dumping ground for other states and countries."