U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow praised the final term of an agreement that she said eliminates the importation of municipal trash from Ontario, Canada.
Speaking with reporters around the state, Stabenow said the Stabenow-Levin Agreement with Ontario’s Minister of Environment stops 1.5 million tons of municipal waste from being dumped in Michigan.
Originally crafted in 2006, the deal cut city waste importation by 20 percent in 2007, and another 20 percent in 2008. The agreement was set to ban all importation by the end of 2010.
However, the deal does not cover the 60 percent of remaining trash imported by non-municipal contractors, such as manufacturing companies. Stabenow said she is working on potential federal remedies to deal with that next part of the issue.
*Click on the video link to hear from a local waste management specialist on what possible changes to contracted waste importation could mean for business
