By Shannon K. Jones
Staff Reporter
DAFTER — “Garbage is burying Michigan,” said State Representative Gary McDowell (D-Rudyard) as he hosted a town hall meeting in Dafter on April 14 to discuss the House Democrats' package of bills designed to deter the importation of garbage into the state.
Residents came out in full force to express their concerns as just a short distance from the town hall lies the Dafter Landfill, which became home to Canadian garbage last year.
The Democrats' package centers around making Michigan too costly of a state to dump garbage. Currently the Michigan dumping rate per ton is 21 cents, one of the lowest in the country, compared to other states which range from $4 to $7. The garbage bills currently in the House and Senate seek to make Michigan the costliest place to dump— raising the rates to $7.50 per ton.
“We want to hit the waste industry in their wallets,” said McDowell. “Our landfills are a place for our garbage, not Wisconsin or Canada's garbage.”
The most recent Department of Environmental Quality report statistics illustrate that Michigan has experienced an increase in garbage imports, up 35 percent from last year. Each year the state's 51 landfills take in 62.6 million cubic yards of solid wasted, 9.4 million (15 percent) of which is from Canada and 6.1 million is attributed to other states.
If the plan is successful, the fee would generate an estimated $100 to $130 million in revenue. The predicted funding would allow the Department of Environmental Quality to regulate the industry on a more consistent basis, while municipalities would receive a portion for local programs which would include efforts to increase recycling.
McDowell renewed his efforts to toughen Michigan's garbage laws in recent weeks when a Toronto trash truck spilled 30 tons of sewage onto the streets of Flat Rock. The spill left the street foot-deep in human waste which took officials more than five hours to clean as HAZMAT crews were called.
“The city was a toilet that day,” said McDowell. “We want to remain the Great Lakes states, not the great waste states.”
The bills are currently in the House and Senate and McDowell is still working on bi-partisan support. “We're close, but we don't have enough,” said McDowell. “We need help on the Republican side.”
McDowell is encouraging those in support of the bills to write letters to their state representatives.
“When people yell, the legislature listens,” said McDowell. “We need you to yell.
Current federal law doesn't allow states to ban importing foreign or out-of-state refuse; it is considered part of interstate commerce, over which Congress has jurisdiction.
