Senator’s Petition Looks for Loophole to Stop Canadian Trash

Lynn Schenkman

Flint, Mich. -- Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., launched a Web site June 2 to inform constituents of developments in her battle to keep Toronto’s trash out of Michigan. Stabenow posted an online petition to the site and announced this week that she has collected 60,000 signatures. The petition calls on outbound U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Christie Whitman to enforce a 1986 agreement that requires Toronto to notify Michigan 30 days before it ships hazardous or solid waste so the state can consent or object. Stabenow says this agreement has been ignored on both sides of the border.

In January 2003, Toronto began shipping all its waste to Michigan. The weekly shipment of trash weights approximately 24,000 tons. She says Toronto’s garbage hampers Michigan’s recycling efforts, clogs bridges and roads, threatens homeland security and introduces health threats. She adds that some shipments from Canada have contained medical waste. For details, visit: stabenow.senate.gov/stoptrash.