Michigan takes Toronto's garbage

[Darth Wong]

Those of you living around my neck of the woods will already know this, but for those that don't, Toronto is running into a serious garbage problem. None of the municipalities in this area will take our landfill, so the city is trying to implement a large-scale composting program, and is asking its residents to separate their organic garbage from their inorganic garbage.

That's OK with me, but here's the interesting part: they have to do this because it's expensive to truck inorganic waste to ... Michigan. Apparently, Michigan is taking our garbage?

Any idea why Michigan would accept Toronto's garbage? Is the state of Michigan hard-up for money? Or are they just less environmentally hung-up than Ontario's northern towns?

[HemlockGrey]

The Great Lakes are full of lampreys that are eating the fish. By some twisted American logic, we can dump the trash into the Great Lakes, kill the lampreys, extricate the trash, and then restock the Great Lakes with fish.

[Mr Bean]

Any idea why Michigan would accept Toronto's garbage? Is the state of Michigan hard-up for money? Or are they just less environmentally hung-up than Ontario's northern towns?

Hmm since I spent a few months there two years ago.. I guess I could be the *board expert on that state

While driving around and flying over the state from March to Septemeber one thing I noticed


LOTS of Open land, I mean you have 900 Arch tracts where there is NOTHING, I've acutaly been to one or two of the dumps there and to call them remote is an understament, The avarage 5K+ Town has a ton of trash pickup areas then on a certian day the fleet of 10-15 Dumb Trucks goes around picks it all up, then trucks it to a landfill roughly ten to fourty miles away from the town.

Now its one thing to protest a land-fill thats just a mile away from your house but even the Eco-nuts have a hard time complaining when its twenty miles away.... So bascily Wong its like Most of the Mid-West they could be dumping Nuclear Waste out there. Its so far removed... no one thinks of it.

[CorSec]

That's OK with me, but here's the interesting part: they have to do this because it's expensive to truck inorganic waste to ... Michigan. Apparently, Michigan is taking our garbage?

Any idea why Michigan would accept Toronto's garbage? Is the state of Michigan hard-up for money? Or are they just less environmentally hung-up than Ontario's northern towns?

It could be both - but I'd bet that a great deal of the citizens in Michigan aren't aware of it. As usual, it's mostly a money thing.

I suppose the jokes will run something like this: We won't take any shit from Canada, but we'll be happy to take their garbage. (Infer anything you wish with that.)

[Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi]

Well, how do you get the garbage produced by the millions of people in Toronto hundreds of miles away without something bad happening?

[Mr Bean]

Well, how do you get the garbage produced by the millions of people in Toronto hundreds of miles away without something bad happening?

The same way you take millions of gallons of Nuclear Waste across country every year.. Its not particulary hard or anything after all the Typical Garbage truck will win aginst any other car and is not likley to flip by accident

[Darth Wong]

Well, how do you get the garbage produced by the millions of people in Toronto hundreds of miles away without something bad happening?

An unusually long, straight highway (anyone who's ever driven the 401 between Windsor and Toronto will know what I mean) and lots of really big trucks.

The funny thing is that this will be factored into the statistics of the US-Canada trade balance; some economist will be ranting about how Canada exports more to the US than the US exports to Canada, and unbenownst to him, part of his statistics will be monstrous piles of garbage, as if that qualifies as a legitimate export

[aerius]

I guess as long as something leaves our country and we get money in return it's an export.

[Howedar]

You aren't getting money, you're in all liklihood paying money.

[HemlockGrey]

Yeah. I don't think we'd buy your garbage; you're paying us to take it.

[Sea Skimmer]

I guess as long as something leaves our country and we get money in return it's an export.

Stupider deals have been made.....

[TrailerParkJawa]

Transporting garbage to distant landfills if a fairly common occurance.

Does Toronto have a recycling program? The programs out here have reduced the amount of stuff going to landfills by a surprising amount. Aluminum, paper, glass, stuff like that. Plastics actually take a small amount of space in a landfill.


Hehe, the oddest job Ive ever had was running a small methane flare station at a concert venue built on a landfill. Its amazing how much gas landfills produce.

[MGraham]

Hey, I'm from Michigan!

And no I don't think they are hard up for money, but like Bean said there is alot of unused land. If you look at your left hand you have a map a michigan. Most people in michigan live on the left edge right below the thumb and then along the wrist part. Most of your fingers are nothing but trees and lakes, except for the tip of the pinky, with most of the people living around the hundreds of lakes. The UP is even more vacant.

[Enlightenment]

Does Toronto have a recycling program? The programs out here have reduced the amount of stuff going to landfills by a surprising amount. Aluminum, paper, glass, stuff like that. Plastics actually take a small amount of space in a landfill.

Toronto has had an extensive curbside-pickup recycling program for over a decade. At the moment Torontonians can recycle glass and plastic bottles, cardboard, papers, newspapers, yard waste, and household appliances.

[His Divine Shadow]

Those of you living around my neck of the woods will already know this, but for those that don't, Toronto is running into a serious garbage problem. None of the municipalities in this area will take our landfill, so the city is trying to implement a large-scale composting program, and is asking its residents to separate their organic garbage from their inorganic garbage.

That recently became law over here.