Political pressure is building for elected officials to do
something to stop shipments of trash from Canada. But as the Great
Lakes Radio Consortium’s Rick Pluta reports, there’s no evidence to
suggest Canadian trash haulers will be stopped at the border anytime
soon:
Transcript
Political pressure is building for elected officials to do something to stop
shipments of trash from Canada. But as the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s
Rick Pluta reports, there’s no evidence to suggest Canadian trash haulers
will be stopped at the border anytime soon:
The effort to ban Canadian trash shipments has always been complicated by
the fact that waste headed to landfills is considered a commodity. And – on
the U.S. side of the border – international trafficking in commodities can
only be regulated by the federal government.
There is a bill in Congress to give states such as Michigan the authority to
regulate waste-hauling. And a bill in the Michigan Legislature would ban the
shipments from Canada 90 days after a federal law is enacted.
But there’s a question on whether Congress can hand a federal responsibility
over to the state of Michigan. And there’s a question on whether the state
of Michigan can legally cancel Canada’s contracts with private landfills.
Another possibility is simply increasing dumping fees. But that would place
an added burden on Michigan taxpayers who would also have to pay more to
have their trash hauled away.
Ontario has proposed a new recycling plan for electronic waste in an effort to conserve materials and reduce pollution. (Photo by Eylem
Culculoglu)
Old computers, televisions and stereos may soon be
found in recycling bins across Ontario. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Karen Kelly reports:
Transcript
Old computers, televisions and stereos might soon be found in recycling
bins across Ontario. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Karen Kelly reports:
Last year, 157 thousand tonnes of electronic waste ended up in Canadian
landfills.
The Ontario government plans to send that waste to recycling plants instead.
It will require electronics manufacturers to devise a recycling plan for their
own products – things like CD players, microwaves and even power tools – and then
help pay for it. John Steele is a spokesman for the Ontario environment ministry.
“Our goal is to reduce the amount of electronic waste that enters a landfill site.
Once something enters a landfill site, for all intents and purposes, it can not be
recycled or reused. It’s a waste of a resource as far as the Ministry of the Environment
is concerned.”
It’s also a source of pollution. Many electronics contain toxins like lead and mercury.
Steele says the plan will be modelled after recycling agreements the province already has
with newspaper, soft drink and pizza box manufacturers.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Karen Kelly.
What happens to electronics when people don't want them anymore? The economics and environmental impact of e-waste disposal weighs heavily on minds all over the globe. (Photo by Michael Manger)
China is banning the import of scrap electronics. That eliminates one place where some U.S. companies were selling broken computers and electronic junk under the guise of “recycling.” The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:
Transcript
China is banning the import of scrap electronics. That eliminates one place where some U-S companies were selling broken computers and electronic junk under the guise of “recycling.” The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:
Each year, more than 60-million desktop computers are taken out of service in the U.S. About 85-percent of them end up in landfills. But some people take their old computers, electronics and appliances to be recycled. Unfortunately, that sometimes simply means being shipped to China and other Asian countries where the electronic gear is burned to retrieve the metal such as copper and steel. Burning the electronic gear releases all kinds of toxic chemicals. Now, China’s main English language newspaper, CHINAdaily, reports the government there is banning the imports of scrap electronic goods. The newspaper reports this marks a change in the Chinese government’s policy of always putting economic conerns in front of less tangible needs such as the environment.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Lester Graham.
Michigan and Pennsylvania are among the top trash-importing states in the nation. In both cases, it’s because both states have lots of capacity and low dumping fees. In Michigan, lawmakers are trying to reduce trash imports, but their efforts are headed to court. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Michael Leland has more:
Transcript
Michigan and Pennsylvania are among the top trash-importing states in the nation. In both cases,
it’s because both states have lots of capacity and low dumping fees. In Michigan, lawmakers are
trying to reduce trash imports, but their efforts are headed to court. The Great Lakes Radio
Consortium’s Michael Leland has more.
In March, Governor Jennifer Granholm signed bills aimed at limiting out-of-state waste in
Michigan landfills. The new laws impose a two-year moratorium on landfill construction. State
inspectors can also now turn back trucks bound for Michigan landfills with items like soda cans,
beer bottles and tires – all things state residents can’t put in their own trash.
“If you dump in Michigan, you have to abide by our rules. You cannot put things in our waste
stream that we would not put in our waste stream.”
The National Solid Wastes Management Association has filed a lawsuit to block Michigan’s
laws. Bruce Parker is the organization’s president. He says they unlawfully limit interstate
commerce.
“The United States Supreme Court has said many times that garbage should be afforded the same
constitutional protection as food, automobiles, you name it. It’s an article of commerce.”
About a fourth of the trash in Michigan’s landfills comes from out-of-state. Most of that
imported amount comes from Toronto.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Michael Leland.
Its discovery 25 years ago led to the creation of the EPA Superfund Program for the cleanup of toxic waste sites. Now, the Environmental Protection Agency says cleanup work is finished at the infamous Love Canal dumpsite in Niagara Falls, New York. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Bud Lowell has more:
Transcript
Its discovery 25 years ago led to the creation of the EPA Superfund Program for the cleanup of
toxic waste sites. Now the Environmental Protection Agency says cleanup work is finished at the
infamous Love Canal dumpsite in Niagara Falls, New York. The Great Lakes Radio
Consortium’s Bud Lowell has more:
The Love Canal neighborhood became a national symbol for the problems of toxic waste in 1978.
Nine hundred families were evacuated. An elementary school and two streets of homes were
bulldozed. The remaining landfill was sealed off.
Today, EPA says the 70-acre site can come off the Superfund List but Mike Schade with a
Buffalo-based group called the Citizens Environmental Coalition isn’t so sure. He says about 22-
thousand tons of World War II era chemical byproducts remain buried at the Love Canal site.
“Now, while the EPA and Occidental are monitoring the landfill, time will prove that landfill will
eventually leak. It’s really, inevitable.”
Schade believes the EPA announcement seeks to defuse criticism of a recent U.S. Senate vote.
That vote blocked reauthorizing a law taxing oil and chemical companies to support the
Superfund program.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Bud Lowell.
As electronic devices are becoming faster, smaller and cheaper, many consumers are opting to scrap their old, outdated computers and televisions for the latest technologies. But as a recent report shows, as people throw out these products, a new legacy of waste is piling up. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Erika Johnson reports:
Transcript
As electronic devices are becoming faster, smaller and cheaper, many consumers are opting to
scrap their old, outdated computers and televisions for the latest technologies. But as a recent
report shows, as people throw out these products, a new legacy of waste is piling up. The Great
Lakes Radio Consortium’s Erika Johnson reports:
Electronic waste – or e-waste – is what ends up in landfills when people throw away electronic
devices such as computer monitors and television sets. The report by the Silicon Valley Toxics
Coalition tracked the amount of e-waste that ends up in landfills. Researchers found there’s more
e-waste than waste from beverage containers and disposable diapers. Electronic products can
threaten human health because they contain toxic heavy metals.
Sheila Davis headed up the Coalition’s report:
“People are starting to sit up and take notice and especially when you start having large volumes
of the material. So many states are taking notice. For example, California, Massachusetts,
Minnesota and Maine have all banned these products from landfills, e-waste from landfills.”
Yet Davis says many people in other states end up pitching their used electronics because many
recycling programs are often inconvenient and expensive.
But for now, Davis suggests people contact their local governments for more information on
where to take their used electronics.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Erika Johnson.
Two Great Lakes states – Pennsylvania and Michigan – top the list of destinations in North America for solid waste disposal. In Michigan, that designation is spurring action to slow the pace of trash being shipped to its landfills. We have more from the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Rick Pluta:
Transcript
Two Great Lakes states – Pennsylvania and Michigan – top the list of destinations in North
America for solid waste disposal. In Michigan, that designation is spurring action to slow the
pace of trash being shipped to its landfills. We have more from the Great Lakes Radio
Consortium’s Rick Pluta:
A new report says one-quarter of the trash going to Michigan’s landfills comes from out-of-state.
Some of it is from neighboring Midwest states such as Illinois and Indiana, some it from as far
away as the east coast. Most of Michigan’s out-of-state waste comes from Canada.
Landfill space is abundant in Michigan and dumping costs are low. But there’s a movement afoot
to try and slow the pace of trash headed to Michigan landfills.
Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm.
“We have sited so many landfills over the past decade or so that we have literally become the
dumping ground of North America.”
Legislation is pending to limit the types of waste that can be dumped in the state’s landfills, and
to make dumping more expensive.
Those efforts have been dealt a setback. A court has ruled transporting trash is a form of
interstate commerce that can only be regulated by the U.S. government.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Rick Pluta.
Ontario appears to be ready to take more steps to protect the environment on the north side of the Great Lakes. The new liberal government wants to rid the province of its bad name, especially on issues like recycling and composting. That means diverting 60 percent of the province’s garbage from landfills within the next five years, which could be good news for landfills south of the border. As the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Dan Karpenchuk reports, the city of Toronto is taking the lead:
Transcript
Ontario appears to be ready to take more steps to protect the environment on the north side of the
Great Lakes. The new liberal government wants to rid the province of its bad name especially on
issues like recycling and composting. That means diverting 60-percent of the provinces’ garbage
from landfills within the next five years, which could be good news for landfills south of the
border. As the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Dan Karpenchuk reports, the city of Toronto is taking the lead:
Toronto generates more than one million metric tons of garbage every year, and the amounts are
increasing. Now it wants to fall into line with the provincial government’s plan to recycle 60-
percent of its waste.
Geoff Rathbone is Toronto’s director of solid waste management services.
He says the city will reach 32-percent by the end of this year, and could make the 60-percent
mark in five years.
“In order to do that we made a number of initiatives such as making recycling mandatory and
banned grass clippings.”
The biggest change is the Green Bin Organics Program. Organic waste such as diapers, sanitary
products and animal waste is picked up in a covered green bin at curbside. That material is sent
to plants for processing and separation.
Rathbone says another plan is already working. It forces businesses to pay to have their garbage
picked up, encouraging them to recycle. So far they’ve cut waste by 40-percent in just one year.
For The Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Dan Karpenchuk.
This beach and its surrounding area is one of 409 contaminated sites on the EPA's National
Priorities List in the eight Great Lakes states. The sign tells people to wash their skin immediately if they come into contact with the tars and oils washing up on shore. (Photo by Stephanie Hemphill)
Ashland, Wisconsin is a small city along the coast of western Lake Superior. It was once a town that thrived on an industrial economy. Today the town is living with a legacy of pollution, and people are fighting over how to clean it up. Ashland’s mayor says he’s not giving up on the city’s future. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Stephanie Hemphill has more:
Transcript
Ashland, Wisconsin is a small city along the coast of western Lake Superior. It was once a town
that thrived on an industrial economy. Today the town is living with a legacy of pollution, and
people are fighting over how to clean it up. Ashland’s mayor says he’s not giving up on the city’s
future. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Stephanie Hemphill has more:
Ashland, Wisconsin, sits on Chequamegon Bay. It’s a wide curve of gently sloping land on the
south shore of Lake Superior. There used to be a busy port here. Ships moved in and out, loaded
with iron ore, lumber, and coal.
But those ships are gone. Ashland’s industry is gone, and the town is trying to create an economy
based on tourism.
But the bay is polluted. The waves lapping gently on the shore carry a thin film of oily scum.
Bright yellow signs warn people not to wade in the water or run their boats in the bay. A year ago,
the EPA named this part of the bay a Superfund site.
It’s not the kind of place that’s likely to attract tourists. But that’s exactly what Ashland’s mayor
wants to do.
“This lakefront is really underdeveloped. And in a service-based economy like we’re at, we could
really be turning some money for our community here.”
Fred Schnook wants to double the size of the city marina. He wants to turn the old sewage
treatment plant into a museum.
“There could be retail shops, there could be a marine repair shop, to have all these boats that we
have here fixed.”
Ashland is within a short day’s drive of Chicago, Milwaukee, and other major Midwestern cities.
The tourism potential is huge.
But a gas plant polluted the bay years ago, and there’s no money to clean it up.
For seventy years, a company made gas to heat and light Ashland’s homes. Most cities had gas
plants like this. The raw material was coal or petroleum. By-products were tars and oils in
various thicknesses. Some of the waste was as solid as roofing tar, some was as runny as used
engine oil. The gas company sold some of the by-products to other industries. It dumped the rest
into Chequamegon Bay. The plant closed years ago.
“So we have the legacy of history.”
Jerry Winslow is an engineer with Xcel Energy, formerly called NSP. NSP bought the
manufactured gas plant in 1976. Now it’s used as a place to repair equipment.
Winslow says other industries along the bay, including a city landfill, added their own pollution
over the years.
“Manufactured gas plant being one issue. Wood treating being another issue with the same kind of
coal tar products. Landfill, which gets a little bit of everything.”
Because it owns the manufactured gas plant, Xcel will probably have to pay a big chunk of the
eventual clean-up cost. But Xcel says if the old city dump is part of the problem, Ashland itself
should bear some of the cost.
Eight years ago the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources began studying the pollution
problems here. The tars and oils can cause cancer. And animal studies suggest they might cause
infertility.
Xcel and the DNR worked together to cover places on land where the pollutants were bubbling to
the surface. And Xcel is slowly pumping the tars out of the deep aquifer that runs under the old
coal plant and into the bay.
The problem right now is the bay itself. The pollutants have settled on the bottom, and whenever
there’s a northeast wind, they get churned up and rise to the surface.
Since the bay is listed as a Superfund site, the EPA is in charge. The federal agency says Xcel will
have to pay for most of the cleanup. So the EPA wants Xcel to figure out how the pollution should
be cleaned up.
Ashland’s mayor, Fred Schnook, doesn’t like that idea. He says Xcel is looking for the cheapest
way to clean up the site.
“Xcel’s fighting any kind of dredging that has to take place. Some of the options include capping
and other remediation that would be a heck of a lot cheaper than dredging. And again, it’s
understandable what Xcel is doing, they have a profit motive at stake here.”
Schnook says he’s looking out for Ashland. He says Xcel doesn’t have the same motivation to
move quickly and do a thorough cleanup.
But pollution cleanups only get more expensive as time goes by. Jerry Winslow has worked on
several other manufactured gas sites. He says they weren’t so complicated to clean up, because
they weren’t sitting next to a lake.
“You don’t have to worry about the fish, the terns, the birds, the whole ecosystem, the worms, etc.
etc. Here we need to worry about that.”
Winslow says Xcel won’t have plans for a clean-up for at least two more years.
But Ashland mayor Fred Schnook says he’ll push the company to move faster. And he’ll be
keeping a close eye on its work. He says Ashland’s future depends on a clean Chequamegon Bay.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Stephanie Hemphill.
Starting today, new Federal Communications Commission rules go into effect. Millions of cell phone users can keep their phone numbers if they switch companies. That means millions of old cell phones could be left behind. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Rebecca Williams has more:
Transcript
Starting today (Monday, November 24th), new Federal Communications
Commission rules go into effect. Millions of cell phone users can keep
their phone numbers if they switch companies. That means millions of old
cell phones could be left behind. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s
Rebecca Williams has more:
Researchers who study cell phone use expect the rules to encourage people to
get new phones. When they do, most of those old phones will
end up in landfills and incinerators. It’s a problem because cell phones
contain toxins and heavy metals that can be released into the environment.
The wireless industry and others have started cell phone collection programs
in response. Eric Most is with Inform, Incorporated, an independent research group.
He studied the collection programs.
“These programs are definitely one potential solution to addressing wireless
waste, but one of the issues is that the small fraction of discarded phones
that these programs are recovering are merely being shifted from the U.S. to
countries that are even less equipped to handle them responsibly in end of
life.”
Most says ideally, the industry should be responsible for the entire life
cycle of the phones. But he says right now, it’s still better to donate old
phones to a collection program than toss them in the trash.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Rebecca Williams.
