LENOX TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) — Some neighbors across Southeast Michigan are sounding the alarm, saying our state is becoming a dumping ground for trash from across the border and across the country.
At a massive landfill in Lenox Township, a steady stream of trucks arrives to drop off trash at what neighbors call an incredibly low cost.
Watch Simon Shaykhet's video report:
For Lloyd Kimmen, the sheer volume of trucks hauling trash into Southeast Michigan is enough to do a double-take with each passing minute.
“There’s one right now," said Kimmen.
Kimmen, a loyal 7 News Detroit viewer, reached out to me about what he calls a growing problem all of us are drowning in.
At just 36 cents per ton, Michigan’s landfill fees are among the nation’s lowest, attracting waste from other states and even Canada.
"I don’t understand how trucking garbage 200-250 miles to dump it here in Michigan next to the Great Lakes is any kind of a good idea," he said.
At Pine Tree Acres Landfill on 29 Mile Road in Lenox Township in Macomb County, I saw firsthand where so many trucks drop off their waste; Waste Management owns the site and has also proposed expansion by 25 percent or 236 acres to take in even more trash.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says she’s had her fill of the state’s low fees and won’t stop fighting to raise them.
"I don’t like Michigan being other states' dumping ground. I don't like it, it really irritates me, and I think that it’s the wrong message to send to the world, that you can send your trash to Michigan. I think we should charge something that's commensurate to what other states charge," Whitmer said.
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy declined my interview request, but previously pointed to our state reaching full capacity at its landfills in just over two decades.
An updated report is expected any day, and in part of a statement, they say disposal rates beyond the 36-cent-a-ton surcharge are “set by landfill operators and haulers” and “may vary."
“We keep creating trash. Unless we recycle more, we’re going to build more dumps. That’s all there is to it," said Sen. Joe Bellino, R-Monroe.
An opponent to only hiking rates, he says Michigan must also improve its low ranking for recycling, Bellino adding recent EGLE approved expansions like one in Van Buren Township could actually have benefits.
“Some of these landfills are in areas that were depressed for a long ... time. For example, Sumpter Township in Wayne County... when they got Carlton Farms, they got new roads, new fire hall, fire trucks, more police. It’s a safer place. Now, it’s a great community to live," he said.
I found data from other states shows a wide range of higher rates, from Indiana charging 60 cents per ton to Wisconsin at $13 per ton. The Midwest average sits at $5.32 per ton.
State Sen. Darrin Camilleri, D-Trenton, says his bills to raise rates have stalled in the House, but if passed, they would help cover added costs for local communities through grants.
“My communities have been dumped on for decades, and we are a magnet for out-of-state and Canadian trash, and my residents are sick of it," Camilleri said.
Waste Management, which operates the Lenox Township facility, declined to talk when I visited, but referred me to the Michigan Waste & Recycling Association.
In part of a statement, they say: “to increase the state’s solid waste tipping fee will raise the cost of essential services provided to Michigan citizens & businesses… virtually every resident in the state as well as local governments, hospitals, public safety organizations and school districts.”
But Kimmen insists state leaders must take action before the issue becomes too tall to tackle and too costly to our environment.
“We don’t have enough garbage in Michigan to fill the dumps? I don’t understand it," said Kimmen.
State leaders on both sides tell me they aren’t giving up on seeing new legislation passed, but the timeline remains unknown.
