Sen. Stabenow is trying to stop Canadian trash from coming into Michigan.
MONTROSE -- Update: April 26th, 4:00 p .m.
An employee at the Brent Run Landfill says the Michigan Department of Environmental (MDEQ) has cleared Canadian trash as safe.
The MDEQ issued a report on Canadian garbage that was delivered to eight U.S. landfills in 2005. The report states, “private contractor personnel characterized incoming waste and documented whether the inspected loads appeared to be in accordance with state and federal laws.” The following is a list of their results:
Data collected during the seven months of inspections showed:
* Most of the inspected Canadian shipments, Michigan shipments, and out‑of‑state shipments appeared to comply with Michigan’s solid waste laws.
* 8.5 percent of the inspected Michigan truckloads, 6.6 percent of the inspected Canadian truckloads, and 2.8 percent of the inspected truckloads from other states contained Freon appliances or other materials potentially prohibited under Michigan’s solid waste laws (excluding beverage containers, whole tires and yard clippings, which are reported below).
* Michigan’s solid waste laws also limit the disposal of beverage containers, whole tires, and yard clippings in MSW landfills. Of the inspected loads, 5.4 percent of Michigan loads potentially exceeded the limits, and 5.5 percent of the Canadian loads potentially exceeded the limits.
* Outreach documents providing best management practices (including improved screening methods) are being developed to help generators, landfills and transfer stations further reduce occurrences of prohibited materials in the future.
For more information on these findings, visit the MDEQ’s website.
Senator Debbie Stabenow is introducing new bills to have Canadian garbage inspected before it comes into Michigan.
Sen. Stabenow says she is pushing the “Stop Canadian Trash Act” because, “Canadian trash poses serious health, safety, and security threats to Michigan families and communities.”
This new legislation comes on the heels of her work with Senator Carl Levin that stopped over 40,000 of Ontario’s government trash trucks from entering Michigan. Now, Senator Stabenow says it’s time to hault the rest of the garbage.
While the Michigan senators are working to prevent the trash from coming across the border, some say the garbage actually creates jobs in Mid-Michigan.
In January, NBC25 spoke with Daniel Gudgel of Waste Connections Inc. at the Brent Run Landfill in Montrose. He stated that Canadian garbage is vital to their business, and to the local economy. “Without that value it would dramatically impact our viability as a company here," Gudgel says. Waste Connections Inc. pours $5 million in the Genesee County economy.
Under the new “Stop Canadian Trash Act,” Canadian companies shipping waste to the U.S. will have top pay a $500 fee at the border in order to pay for the Department of Homeland Security to inspect each of the trucks. Right now, trucks only pay about $5 and are only inspected at random.
What do you think? Should Michigan stop allowing Canadian trash due to health and security concerns, or do you think allowing the garbage is important to the economy? Vote on our poll below and leave us your comments.
