Canada to dump 2.1 million tons of trash near Detroit

SUMPTER TOWNSHIP (AP) - Up to 2.1 million tons of Canadian garbage will start rolling into suburban Detroit in January, finding a final resting place in a landfill there.

The commercial and industrial waste from Toronto is to be buried at the Carleton Farms landfill in Wayne County, about 20 miles southwest of Detroit.

Thousands of truckloads will make the 225-mile journey from Toronto, crossing the Ambassador Bridge at Detroit and the Blue Water Bridge at Port Huron.

The project has angered environmentalists, frustrated state officials and pleased some in Sumpter Township who stand to gain from royalties. Toronto's plan came to light only last weekend after a controversial proposal to carry city waste by rail to a shuttered Canadian iron mine was defeated.

"Nobody really wants a landfill," said township Supervisor Marvin Banotai. "We figured if were stuck with it, we might as well make it an advantage for the township."

Gov. John Engler's office said he opposes importation of trash from Canada and from other states but can do little to control it. The practice requires no special Department of Environmental Quality permits for waste untainted by chemicals or other immediate hazards. No transportation permits are needed for Canadian garbage trucks using Michigan roads.

"The state's hands are tied. This is an issue of free commerce, even if it does eat up Michigan's landfill capacity," Engler spokesman John Truscott said.

In a five-year contract, Carleton Farms is slated to receive 300,000 tons each year for two years, then increase its load to 500,000 tons annually. The landfill is owned by Republic Services Inc. of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Depending on the size of the trucks, that could mean as many as 200 trucks hauling the trash each day. "We have no skeletons in our closet. This is an excellent landfill with an ideal geologic base for this waste," Matt Neely, president of Republic Services of Michigan, told The Detroit News.

Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman said that shipping waste to Michigan is "the best deal at the best price that protects taxpayers," and the City Council approved the plan.

According to the contract, Toronto's garbage will include waste from hotels, restaurants, strip malls, nursing homes, residences and businesses, but not hospitals.

Blood, medicines, body parts and other wastes deemed hazardous must be steamed or incinerated and disposed of separately. Under the new contract with Toronto, officials expect to receive $1.50 per ton of trash. "This is something that we've needed to get Sumpter back on its feet," Banotai said.

Jim Bradley, a former Ontario environment minister, said the issue goes both ways across the border.

"Our goal should be looking after waste in our own jurisdiction," he said. "The U.S. also sends us hazardous waste."