DEARBORN - State Representative Gino H. Polidori (D-Dearborn) today held a town hall meeting in Dearborn, gathering together local environmental groups, government officials and residents, to hear concerns and rally support for House Democratic legislation to stop the flow of imported trash into Michigan.
The meeting took place this afternoon at UAW Local 245 Labor Hall on 1226 Monroe in Dearborn.
"The town hall was a great opportunity for citizens to voice their deep concern about the growing amount of imported trash coming into Michigan," Rep. Polidori said. "It was a good forum to exchange ideas, and I'm grateful to have the chance to share further details about the Democratic plan to stop this tide of garbage coming into our state."
Rep. Polidori said the town hall also gave him and his guest, Brad Van Guilder of the Ecology Center, a platform to talk about the dangers imported trash poses to Michigan.
In 2004, more than 6 million tons of trash entered the state from Canada. More than 400 trucks rumble over Michigan bridges and roads daily. Rep. Polidori also pointed out that Canadian trash trucks have been involved in several incidents since 2002, including smuggling a ton of marijuana, bringing in radioactive medical waste and, most recently, dumping 30-tons of human waste in the middle of Flat Rock last month.
The crux of the Democratic plan: a dumping charge of $7.50 per ton of trash; a ban on landfills until 2010; tougher enforcement and penalties; and allocation of money from the dumping charge to local communities to boost recycling programs.