Congressman John D. Dingell

Dearborn, MI - Representative John D. Dingell (MI-15), the longest serving Member of the House of Representatives, praised the Michigan House Democrats today for unveiling legislation that establishes a dumping charge on solid waste entering Michigan landfills. The House Democrats also proposed tougher penalties on municipalities that break Michigan’s dumping laws and extending a landfill expansion ban.

"I commend the Michigan House Democrats for their leadership and unwavering support for curbing the inflow of out-of-state and Canadian trash,” Dingell said. “People around Michigan have asked to do whatever we can to stop the trash trucks at the Ambassador and Blue Water Bridges. In Washington, I will continue to fight to put a stop to the inflow of trash and my friends in Lansing are doing what needs to be done on their end. Legislators have crafted a measure that can withstand court challenges and will likely result in the decline of trash that we can’t handle and we don’t want."

Michigan is the third largest importer of waste in the nation, with nearly 5 million tons brought to Michigan annually. Since the summer of 2003, the number of trucks coming from Canada jumped from 180 per day to 415 per day.

"The continued importation of waste is a homeland security risk, an environmental concern, and, honestly, an economic threat. I call on the Michigan lawmakers to act quickly on this critical legislation at the state level and not fail to act on important trash policy as the White House and Republican Congressional Leadership have done. The Environmental Protection Agency and the Administration claim to support curtailing trash imports to Michigan. However, the talk has been cheap. We will push for them to show real enthusiasm on this issue – it’s a time for action, not platitudes."