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Why don’t we just stop the trash? Traditionally, the management of waste has been regulated by state and local governments. This authority has been restricted by the courts, including the United States Supreme Court, who have ruled that waste is an “article of interstate commerce.” Since it is the responsibility of Congress to regulate interstate commerce, it is questionable whether restrictions imposed by state or local governments on interstate waste are legally enforceable. The importation of waste into Michigan is further complicated by the fact that trash is imported from another country, Canada. This raises the question of whether foreign waste is protected by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Proponents of Canadian trash imports argue that NAFTA and other international trade agreements essentially require that “products” (waste) from Canada (and Mexico) not be disadvantaged because of their foreign origin and that Canadian trash imports can only be subjected to the same restrictions that Michigan is allowed to impose on waste from other states. All of this means that Congress must consider these complicated issues of interstate commerce and international trade before passing any ban on the importation of Canadian Trash into Michigan. However, despite the complicated and controversial nature of this issue, it is clear that Congress and the United States government have the authority to regulate this issue and stop the trash. Senator Stabenow believes this must be done as soon as possible.
What is being done? Ultimately, we need to stop these trash trucks altogether. That’s why Senator Stabenow has introduced the International Solid Waste Importation and Management Act (S. 1198). This bill would prohibit any further Canadian Trash from coming into the state until the EPA uses the legal power they have under the Agreement Concerning the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Waste and stops the trash. But until this legislation passes, our safety and security depend on the effective screening of this waste. Senator Stabenow believes that Canada has an obligation to pay for these inspections. In the recent budget bill, she authored a provision that passed the U.S. Senate, which lays the groundwork for the United States to charge up to $45 million a year in inspection fees to Canadian trash truck companies. These fees equal $420 per truck crossing into Michigan. This provision would ensure that American taxpayers do not pay the costs of implementing the security recommendations of the Inspector General's report. In addition to sponsoring federal legislation to ban the importation of trash, Senator Stabenow is pursuing every means possible to regulate and stop the importation of trash from Canada. These efforts include stricter security inspections at the border and the regulation of yard waste that poses a high risk of importing invasive and damaging pests into our country. In addition, Senator Stabenow has organized Michigan citizens through an on-line petition urging the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to stop Canadian trash shipments by enforcing an existing treaty with Canada called the Agreement Concerning the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Waste. 171,000 residents from all 83 Michigan counties have signed the petition – an unprecedented response.
Does the EPA have the authority to enforce this treaty? Yes! Under the bilateral agreement called the Agreement Concerning the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Waste, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the “designated authority” for the United States and should receive notification and have 30 days to respond and object or consent to the trash shipments. To date, the EPA has not implemented the treaty and has never been notified or questioned Canada’s failure to contact them. Senator Stabenow’s legislation would force them to implement this treaty.
Does Michigan ship hazardous waste to Canada? According to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), in 2002 Michigan shipped 45,000 tons of hazardous waste to Canada. However, in 2003, Michigan exports to Canada decreased by 38% to fewer than 28,000 tons. This number is dwarfed by the over 9.4 million cubic yards of waste Michigan received from Canada in 2003 alone.
Does Canada enforce the 1986 Treaty? Despite the fact that the United States is not exercising its authority to consent or refuse trash shipments from Canada under the existing 1986 treaty (Agreement Concerning the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Waste), all waste shipments to Ontario from the United States are explicitly consented to by the Ontario government. In Canada, the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) gives the provincial premiers (analogous to state governors) the authority to either accept or reject the shipments. The Canadian Minister of the Environment also has the authority to refuse shipments, even when the province agrees to it.
How many trash trucks enter from Canada every day? According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), approximately 350 trash trucks cross into Michigan on a daily basis.
What bridges are the trash trucks crossing? The full trash trucks cross into Michigan on the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron. Of those 350 trucks, a large majority of trucks return via the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit. The Blue Water Bridge charges trucks by axle and the Ambassador Bridge charges by weight, so it is cheaper for the empty trucks to return via the Ambassador Bridge. There are also smaller quantities of trash coming across the Soo International Bridge in Sault Ste Marie.
What counties receive the Canadian trash? The following counties are currently known to have landfills receiving Canadian waste: Macomb, Genesee, Huron, Washtenaw, Monroe, Wayne, Crawford(Crawford no long accepts) and Chippewa Counties.
How much Canadian trash does Michigan receive? In 2005, Michigan received a total of 11.9 million cubic yards of Canadian trash, representing 19 percent of all trash in Michigan landfills. Much of this Canadian Trash comes from the City of Toronto, which began shipping all of its trash to Michigan’s landfills starting in January 2003.
What impact are these trash imports having on our state? If we keep accepting imported trash at the present rate, Michigan’s landfills will be filled in less than 10 years – instead of an estimated 17 years – forcing us to turn more of our state’s valuable green spaces into landfills. Dumping of Canadian waste also poses a serious environmental threat. Toxic waste – such as the known carcinogens PCBs – that we would not allow to be dumped as municipal waste in Michigan is sometimes mixed in with the trash we are taking from Canada. Also, Michigan committed itself to recycling by passing a 10-cent deposit on many beverage containers. This has removed most containers from our waste stream and kept them out of our landfills. But most Canadian cities are not as aggressive in their recycling efforts, so Michigan landfills wind up as dumping grounds for waste our voters have clearly said they do not want. Accepting all this out-of-state municipal waste increases the wear and tear on our roads and bridges, increases traffic congestion and creates dangerous situations as hundreds of trucks a day crisscross our state on the way to the landfills. In addition to these devastating effects on our environment and infrastructure, the trash trucks have also resulted in numerous dangerous incidents. Sumpter Township police officers arrested the driver of a Canadian trash truck at a Michigan landfill after he had crossed the Michigan-Canadian border with more than 50 pounds of drugs inside of his truck. Canadian trash trucks carrying radioactive materials and medical waste have been turned back at U.S. ports of entry no less than five times, and a trash truck containing bags of untreated blood was stopped at the Ambassador Bridge because it was literally dripping blood. A garbage truck heading from Toronto to Wayne County was on fire when it attempted to cross the Blue Water Bridge. In addition to the time and materials spent by local, state and federal employees to put out the fire, a large amount of hazardous and toxic waste was expelled, all on the deck of one of the busiest border crossings in the United States.
Is the Department of Homeland Security addressing the security concerns with these trash shipments? Senator Stabenow has presented a copy of the 171,000 signed petitions to the Environmental Protection Agency Administrator as well as the Secretary of Homeland Security. Senator Stabenow continues to push these officials to use the legal powers they already have to stop this trash. In addition, Senator Stabenow gave then-Homeland Security Secretary,Tom Ridge a personal tour of the Bluewater Bridge, where he saw the lines of trash trucks waiting to enter Michigan. After the request of Senator Stabenow, Senator Levin, and Congressman John Dingell, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agreed to thoroughly review the security risk the incoming trash trucks might pose to Homeland Security. DHS released the results of this investigation in early 2006. The result of this audit will not be a surprise to any Michigan citizen-- the current inspection and screening of trash trucks presents a serious risk to our national security and public health. Thanks to public pressure, this audit has finally been released. You can see the alarming results of the security audit by visiting http://stabenow.senate.gov/stoptrash/oigreport0406.htm .
Who is profiting from these trash imports? The landfill owners are the biggest beneficiaries of the trash imports. In fact, two of the major landfill companies that are making money from these shipments are not even Michigan companies!
How can I help? If you know anyone who would like to sign the petition and receive periodic updates, they can do so by going to www.stabenow.senate.gov/stoptrash. Senator Stabenow, along with the entire Michigan delegation, will continue to fight to stop Canadian trash. You can make your voice heard to the Department of Homeland Security and the Environmental Protection Agency, by writing to let them know that they are putting Michigan at risk! Get contact information for the Department of Homeland Security by visiting http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/contactus . You can find contact information for the Environmental Protection Agency at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/postal.htm . Let’s stop this problem at its source! Email The Honorable David Miller, Mayor of Toronto, and tell him to keep his Canadian trash in Canada! You can email him at mayor_miller@toronto.ca .
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