No one wants trash in his or her backyard. In Michigan, we already have so much that we're skiing on it in places such as Brighton. And while it's easy to blame this one on Canadians, the 130 truckloads of trash they import each day creates jobs and generates money.

State lawmakers are in the midst of changing how much out-of-state and Canadian trash can be dumped in Michigan landfills. The "trash bills" are intended to limit and regulate how much trash is imported from Canada and other states.

The "not in my backyard" argument is easy for politicians and citizens to make when confronted with importing trash into their own districts - nobody wants more trash. But importing stinky heaps of compost to Michigan brings jobs and commerce.

Last year, Sumpter Township, got $4 million from landfill revenue and $3 million of that revenue was generated by Canadian trash, said Matt Neely, area president for Florida-based landfill company Republic Services.

Wayne County received around $1.25 million, $800,000 coming from Canadian trash, Neely said.

When Republic Services took over the Carlton Farms landfill, there were only 10 employees, but now they are employing 40 people because of the imported trash.

Also, trucks importing trash from Canada have to pay Michigan highway taxes and landfills have to build pollution control areas that cost more than $500,000 per acre to construct.

Instead of lawmakers turning trash legislation into "not in my backyard" proposals and ignoring all of the positives that this trash brings, they should be creating programs that combat the problem head-on.

Michigan legislators should be looking to create more recycling programs that prevent trash from being created in the first place. They need to work on replacing jobs for landfill workers who might lose theirs because of this legislation.

Trash is always unwanted, but it provides jobs and money. Legislators need to be mindful of who they could be hurting by preventing the import of trash.