LANSING – State Representative Rebekah Warren (D-Ann Arbor) today called for decisive action to stop the flow of Canadian and out-of-state trash into Michigan after the DEQ released a report showing that trash imports rose again in 2008, with Canada still the largest exporter of solid waste to Michigan.
"It's time to stop allowing companies from Canada and other states to make a profit by putting our roads and natural resources at risk," said Warren, who spearheaded the House passage of an aggressive anti-trash plan last session. "This report shows that the problem won't go away until we take decisive steps to protect our land, air and water from the endless flood of trash coming across our borders. As Chair of the Great Lakes and Environment Committee again this session, I will be pushing for action that ensures that Michigan remains known as the Great Lakes State, not the Great Waste State."
The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality today released its trash report for 2008. Overall, the amount of trash dumped in Michigan landfills decreased by more than 300,000 tons last year. Michigan residents led the way in this effort, as the amount of Michigan trash that ended up in state landfills dropped by over 1 million cubic yards in 2008. Imports of out-of-state trash increased, primarily due to dramatic increases from states like New Jersey, which dumped over 700,000 tons of trash in Michigan – nearly double the amount of two years ago. Once again, the largest importer of trash was Canada, which accounted for nearly 19 percent of trash dumped in Michigan last year.
Under Warren's leadership, the House acted in 2007 to curb the influx of Canadian and out-of-state trash by passing a sweeping series of reforms that would have raised the state's dumping charge from the lowest in the region and forced haulers to take their waste elsewhere.
The plan also would have placed a moratorium on the construction of new landfills and strictly limited the expansion of existing landfills. The Senate refused to take action on the House plan for nearly two years before letting the bills die in December. The plan will be reintroduced in the House again this year.
A similar plan worked to slash trash 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. Meanwhile, Michigan is seeing even more trash coming in from the Keystone State every year. In 2008, Michigan saw an 88 percent increase in the amount of trash coming across the border from Pennsylvania.
"Residents have told me over and over that they want us, as lawmakers, to stop the flood of trash from other states and Canada," Warren said. "We owe it to future generations to protect our waterways and our way of life. I am eager to work with my colleagues to pass an aggressive anti-trash plan and solve this problem once and for all."