Overview
- Michigan has become the Midwest’s dumping ground because of its rock-bottom landfill tipping fees, which are just $0.36 per ton—the lowest in the region. This has made the state an attractive destination for out-of-state waste, with 25% of landfill trash coming from places like Ohio, Indiana, and Canada. Neighboring states charge an average of $5 per ton, raising the question: Why should Michigan absorb waste that other states don’t want?
- Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Senator Jeff Irwin (D-Ann Arbor) have pushed to raise the tipping fee to $5 per ton, which would generate an estimated $80 million per year for environmental cleanups, brownfield redevelopment, and recycling programs. Supporters argue this would align Michigan with regional norms and create dedicated funding for sustainability efforts. Opponents, including Republican lawmakers and the waste industry, warn that the increase could raise costs for businesses, municipalities, and residents, potentially leading to illegal dumping.
- Much of this out-of-state waste is being sent to major Michigan landfills, including Wayne Disposal in Van Buren Township, Pine Tree Acres in Macomb County, and Carleton Farms in Wayne County. These facilities have historically accepted large amounts of waste from Canada and other states because Michigan’s cheap rates make it a preferred disposal site. This raises concerns about long-term landfill capacity and whether local communities should have more power to reject external waste.
- Despite strong advocacy from Whitmer and environmental groups, the proposed tipping fee increase was removed from Michigan’s $82.5 billion state budget in June 2024, leaving the rate at $0.36 per ton. While this was a win for industry groups and Republicans, it leaves the question open: Will Democrats try again next session, or is Michigan stuck subsidizing out-of-state waste for the foreseeable future?
Transcription
David Fair: When it comes to garbage, Michigan has become the dumping ground for other Midwest states and Canada. In fact, about 25 percent of the trash in Michigan landfills comes from outside of Michigan. I'm David Fair, and welcome to this week's edition of Issues of the Environment. State Senator Jeff Irwin of Ann Arbor is pushing for legislative changes that would make Michigan far less attractive, while providing a number of direct and related environmental benefits along the way. The 15th District Democrat wants to increase the tipping fees and put Michigan on par with neighboring states. Senator Irwin, thank you for coming on today! I appreciate it!
Sen. Jeff Irwin: Yeah, thank you for your interest, David!
David Fair: Well, I referred it as tipping fees, but I know a lot of folks that just call it dumping fees because the per ton charge placed on garbage being dumped in our landfills. Right now, those who are shipping the trash into Michigan are being charged, I believe, 36 cents per ton--36 cents for 2,000 pounds of trash. How does that compare to our neighboring states and tipping fees in Canada?
Sen. Jeff Irwin: Well, Michigan has been a dumping ground for all of our neighbors precisely because our tipping fees are so much lower than any of our neighbors. The Great Lakes states around us tend to have tipping fees around five dollars to thirteen dollars per ton. And Michigan's fee is only thirty six sent a ton. And so, that's why it makes economic sense for communities all over the Great Lakes to drive their trash all the way to Michigan because the expense of driving it here is less than the tipping fees that they have to pay in their own state.
David Fair: Well, last year in 2024, you proposed increasing the tipping fee up to that $5 a ton level. Governor Gretchen Whitmer pushed for a $5 per ton increase as well. Yet, it was removed from that budget, and the fees were left at 36 cents per ton. I know you're proposing the increase again this year, and there are so many budget questions to be addressed. Is this one going to stay in the budget this time around?
Sen. Jeff Irwin: Well, I hope so, but i think we're up against is that these are never popular. And there's always a certain amount of pushback against any additional fees. But, of course, one of the things we can do with this particular fee is we can design it, so that the revenue comes back to our residents. We can design it, so that additional fees that residents pay and that circling back to their cities and townships to support their solid waste and recycling costs within their municipalities. So, if we do it right, we can actually set up a system where these extra fees are really only being applied to the out-of-state waste dumpers and the Canadian waste, because we'll be redirecting those revenues back to Michigan communities.
David Fair: Well, we're talking about further investment in a circular economy, and that's been around for a while and growing, but it also seems as though that circular environmental economy has its resistance and isn't moving as quickly as many would like.
Sen. Jeff Irwin: We'll change it out of heart. This is something we've been talking about for at least twenty years. I remember talking about Michigan's uncommonly low tipping fees and how that made us a dumping ground way back in 2006, under Governor Granholm. I remember when Governor Snyder, our mostly Republican governor, proposed this exact same thing that Governor Whitmer is now proposing--to increase dipping fees around five dollars to make it so Michigan was no longer a dumping ground. So, really, this has been something that Republican governors have called for and Democratic governors have called for, and it's time that we finally get this done--make Michigan no longer an attractive beacon for trash from all over the Great Lakes region.
David Fair: We're talking tipping fees and environmental health with State Senator Jeff Irwin today. The 15th District Ann Arbor Democrat is our guest on WEMU's Issues of the Environment. Is part of the problem that we simply have too much landfill space in Michigan which allows it to be cheap to dump here?
Sen. Jeff Irwin: I definitely heard that as well. During the Engler administration, also going back 20 years now or 25 years, there was a great expansion in the number of landfills authorized here in Michigan. I've also heard that pointed to as a reason why Michigan is such a dumping ground for out-of-state trash. It does increase the supply and presumably lowered the price. But this tipping fee is a massive part of what driving the trash into our state. And I think that we can address it. And we can do it in ways that bring new revenue to state government from these out-of-state waste dumpers but then also make sure that our own residents who are going to pay an extra maybe dollar a year, as a result of this, have those funds sent back to our communities to support our waste and recycling program locally.
David Fair: The industry itself is relatively tightly regulated, but it certainly does create a problem of consequences. There's leaking leachate that can contaminate groundwater. The burning of the methane gas the garbage creates contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. Air quality can become a problem, and that, in turn, can create public health concerns. Would an increase in tipping fees allow these companies and various municipalities to further invest in environmental and health protections?
Sen. Jeff Irwin: I think it will, particularly if we don't redirect the revenue from this fee back to our communities to give communities more resources and options to deal with our own solid waste more intelligent and often more efficient ways. So, I think that is true. I think they can also help us reduce some of those problems that we see from landfills. Landfills are inherently dirty, and they can cause real environmental harm. And we don't want to be bringing those to our state. And I would add to it. It's not just genuine public health concerns, but there is also nuisance concerns from these landfills. We do not want to continue to be a dumping ground for all of our neighbors.
David Fair: Let's talk about some of the other environmental concerns that go along with having so much trash shipped into our state--transportation right at the top of the list. More trucks, more emissions, more pollution, more use of fossil fuels, more road damage and, subsequently, more need for road repairs. Would a raise to $5 a ton be enough to deter enough trucks that we start to see savings on that front?
Sen. Jeff Irwin: Well, I think it would, but I would be predicting the future in a way that I'm not comfortable doing. It seems to be intuitive that you'd see less pollution, less truck traffic and less wear-and-tear on a road. But if we did not see that, what we would be is a whole lot more revenue into our landfills if the out-of-state waste haulers keep coming their way here even if it gets more expensive in Michigan, we should derive some benefit from that, even if we don't get the intuitive result which is, I think, that we would actually see those trucks stay in their own state.
David Fair: Once again, this is 89.1 WEMU, and our Issues of the Environment guest today is State Senator Jeff Irwin of Ann Arbor. We're talking waste management and tipping fees. You've pointed out some of the reasons why people don't like an increase in tipping fee. Conservatives have sometimes described it as tax hiding under a different name. Do you think the differences in the way this particular measure would be implemented will address that concern?
Sen. Jeff Irwin: Well, time will tell. I think one of the reasons why that had been done over the last 20 years one of the reasons why--it wasn't done when Governor Snyder proposed it--is because of the waste industry had a lot of influence within the Republican Party. They invest heavily in the political stats of the Republican Party. And also, Republicans tend to be very resistant to any sort of tax or fee increase. And so, I think that's going to make it a real challenge. The hope that i have though is that we're able to work with them, work with their cities and townships and work with their counties to show that if we do this right, as I've said a couple times earlier in the interview, we can actually redirect those revenues to meet costs at our local government, which could turn into either tax relief for those local residents at the local level or a lack of a need to keep investing in their local recycling and solid waste programs because they'll be getting new revenue from the state generated by this fee. So, if we do it smart, we can make sure that this new fee really is a fee on out-of-state waste, and it's one that, even though we pay, it comes back into our communities in ways that support our local governments that we otherwise pay taxes for.
David Fair: I'm going to guess that this is a conversation that you have had with many of your Republican colleagues in the state Legislature. How is the argument going over to this point?
Sen. Jeff Irwin: Well, I think that, last year, it was very challenging because, of course, the Democratic House was controlled by Democrats. It was a one-vote majority, so the Republicans that think we're unified against voting for anything no matter what it was. This time, though, with Republicans in charge of the House, I'm hoping that we can have a more serious conversation about how making Michigan an attractive place for waste from across the region is bad for our state. It's bad for our water. It's bad for our air. It's bad for our roads. And it's a bad long-term decision for our landfill capacity for the waste needs of our own people. I think that they can agree with that. The problem is: Can we get them to agree that there's a solution that they're willing to vote for?
David Fair: So, as we move forward through the budget process, what are you going to be doing to try and ensure that this element of the budget stays intact?
Sen. Jeff Irwin: We're going to be talking about it in my subcommittee for appropriation to the Department of Environment Great Lakes and Energy. I hope to include it in the budget that we report, although that is subject to the votes of myself and all my colleagues. And I hope to continue talking with my more conservative colleagues about how, once again, if we do this right, we can do it in a way where the additional dollar or two that Michigan residents are paying in this fee is routed back to their communities in ways that serve our local needs and relieve costs of local government.
David Fair: We'll be following along, and we'll have occasion to talk again. Thank you so much for the time and information today, Senator!
Sen. Jeff Irwin: Thank you again!
David Fair: That is 15th District State Senator Jeff Irwin. The Ann Arbor Democrat is pushing for an increase in tipping fees to preserve future landfill space and minimize out-of-state trash being hauled into Michigan and making us a dumping ground. For more information, we'll get you linked up when you visit wemu.org. Issues of the Environment is produced with support from the Office of the Washtenaw County Water Resources Commissioner, and you hear it every Wednesday. I'm David Fair, and this is your community NPR station, 89.1 WEMU-FM Ypsilanti. Celebrating 60 years of broadcasting from the campus of Eastern Michigan University!
Non-commercial, fact based reporting is made possible by your financial support. Make your donation to WEMU today to keep your community NPR station thriving.
Like 89.1 WEMU on Facebook and follow us on X (Twitter)
Contact WEMU News at 734.487.3363 or email us at studio@wemu.org
