LANSING – Responding to a report released today showing Canadian and out-of-state garbage increased to 6.3 million tons in 2006, House Democrats announced a plan to attack the economics of the ever-growing trash trade by raising the paltry charge that trash companies pay to dump in Michigan.
"Other states ship their garbage here because we're cheap and we have ever-expanding landfill space," said State Representative Rebekah Warren (D-Ann Arbor). "Michigan doesn't need more landfills. We need action to protect our land, air, water and quality of life. This is an issue we can't afford to ignore. As chair of the Great Lakes and Environment Committee, I am pleased to announce that we will begin holding hearings today on how we can best fight Canadian and out-of-state trash."
Michigan's Department of Environmental Quality today said Canada and other states dumped 6.3 million tons of trash in our state in 2006, up from 6.2 million tons in 2005. Canadian and out-of-state trash now accounts for more than 30 percent of total waste landfilled in Michigan. In 1996, Canada and other states dumped only 1.9 million tons of trash, about 13 percent of trash landfilled in Michigan.
The House Democratic anti-trash plan will:
· Raise Michigan's dumping charge from 21cents a ton – the lowest in the region – to $7.50 a ton, the highest in the nation.
· Ban new landfills and strictly limit the expansion of existing landfills until 2012.
· Return money from the new dumping charge – expected to total $170 million in the first year – to local communities to pay for roads, fire and police, and more recycling.
· 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.
For more than four years, House Democrats have led the fight against Canadian and out-of-state trash and said a high dumping charge is the best weapon against imported garbage. Last week, House Democrats announced six new priorities areas that will attracts jobs, protect our quality of life and position Michigan to be a leader in a 21st century economy. Fighting Canadian and out-of-state trash is one of the six new priorities.