Michigan Legislature Reconvenes on Landfill Issues

Rebekah A. Hal

Lansing, Mich. -- Because Michigan cannot ban Canadian waste from entering its landfills, when state lawmakers reconvene today, they will consider bills that would place increased restrictions on waste and boost the costs of disposing trash in the Great Lakes State.

This is the latest in the ongoing battle to keep "outsiders" trash away of the Michigan. Specifically, the Senate will look at increasing tipping fees by $3 per ton, which typically will force haulers to search for a more affordable landfill. Monies generated from the increased fee will fund additional recycling and litter initiatives, news sources report. Also, the House will require that incoming refuse meet the same recycling standards as local trash. For example, refuse brought into the state could not contain yard waste because such material is banned from Michiganders refuse.

According to the Detroit Free Press, other pending legislation would:
-- Allow the DEQ director authority to ban waste if it poses a "substantial" health risk;
-- Create a 2-year ban on new landfills;
-- Create a statewide recycling coordinator and recycling goals of 30 percent by 2009 and 50 percent by 2014; and
-- Ban cathode ray tubes from incinerators and landfills.