Importing of trash from Canada into Michigan needs to stop. While legislators have become creative as to where they get their funding, especially when the state is facing difficult budget constraints, the people of Michigan need to tell them they have gone too far.
The statewide campaign to stop the importation of Canada's trash into Michigan gained support last week as legislators in Lansing discussed the trash treaty and encouraged residents to sign petitions against foreign trash imports.
U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, is heading the efforts to collect signed petitions from around the state to support the fight against a 1986 treaty between Michigan and Toronto to haul trash from Canada into Michigan. The state now receives about $200 million per year from the Canadian government for hauling the garbage across the border according to the Web site of CANOE, a Canadian news source.
The state has prostituted itself out to get the money it needs and it is risking long-term environmental damage to our state just to pay the bills. The long-term effects of this could be huge and more expensive than the revenue it currently brings in. The state should take precaution when another place wants to sell its trash. Obviously, they don't want the trash over in Canada because they want to preserve the beauty of where they live. That quality of life should be extended across the border. Ultimately, the goal should be finding alternative ways to deal with the trash.
No matter what we decide to do with the trash, it will always be a problem because as a society we constantly produce garbage. It would be more valuable to cut additional programs than to damage our state's environment. If this continues, Michigan could be known for its landfills rather than its natural beauty. License plates could read: "Canada's Trash Can."
The point is sometimes it doesn't come down to the almighty dollar. While the government had to get creative to find money in the past, the buck should stop on sacrificing the quality of Michiganians' lives.
