Less Michigan refuse going into state landfills

LANSING (AP) -- Less garbage from Michigan residents was dumped last fiscal year in state landfills, but trash transported from Canada increased. Michigan landfills took in about 45 million cubic yards of trash through the end of September 2013 -- up 1.4 percent from the previous fiscal year, MLive.com reported recently from a state Department of Environmental Quality report. Landfill garbage from inside the state dropped by a half-percent. Trash from Canada increased by 13 percent. Canadian trash makes up about 17 percent of garbage in Michigan landfills. Six percent comes from other states. Michigan landfills charge relatively low rates for dumping, making the state attractive to companies seeking to dispose of trash, said Department of Environmental Quality spokesman Brad Wurfel. The state also exports some of its trash, including hazardous waste which it sends to Canada, according to MLive.com. Trash imported from Canada is down 36 percent since 2006. Over that time, the amount of waste in Michigan landfills has dropped by nearly 30 percent. "That is a trend that's happening nationwide and it shows that as a country and a state, we're shifting to less packaging, more recycling, reuse," said Tom Horton, Midwest public affairs director at Houston-based Waste Management. The company operates facilities in Michigan. Michigan landfills have about 28 years of remaining disposal capacity left, according to state estimates. That doesn't include existing landfill space without permits. The state has decades of capacity left without having to add more property to existing landfills, said Horton. Published: Wed, Feb 19, 2014