Ontario Sault trash still trucked across International Bridge

Trash from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario continues to be hauled across the International Bridge to the Dafter Sanitary Landfill in Michigan's Chippewa County.

That disclosure was made this week by Larry Girardi, the Ontario Sault's commissioner of public works and transportation.

Speaking at a meeting of City Council, Girardi described a drop in revenue from tipping fees at the city landfill on Fifth Line East as "mainly due to commercial waste going to the U.S."

Girardi's revelation of ongoing cross-border trash hauling seemed to catch councillors by surprise, especially Ward 1 Councillor Steve Butland, City Hall's most prolific proponent of environmental and renewable energy initiatives.

Butland referred to a since-scrapped policy of the City of Toronto to ship 100 percent of its garbage to Michigan.

From 2003 to 2010, as many as 142 trucks used to cross the border daily, carrying 10,000 daily tons of Toronto trash.

"I thought that was stopped," Councillor Butland said. "They were stopping the waste trucks at the border. You were no longer allowed to do that. Is that still in place? Why is it different here?"

Wesley Hallam murder case

In 2011, when police searchers found parts of the dismembered body of the Ontario Sault's Wesley Hallam in the Dafter dump, media reports indicated the shipments of Ontario trash to Michigan had already been halted.

Five years earlier, the Ontario Waste Management Association had announced that an agreement had been reached with Michigan and Ontario municipalities to halt the export of municipal residential waste to Michigan by 2010.

However, that agreement specifically did not cover waste from the industrial, commercial and institutional (IC&I) sector.

IC&I waste is handled by private haulers.

Susan Hamilton Beach, deputy commissioner of public works and transportation, confirmed that much of the Ontario Sault's IC&I waste ends up in Dafter.

It results in lost tipping fees for the city and there's nothing we can do about it.

'There is no global rule'

"As far as I am aware, there is no global rule that's affecting our haulers here," Hamilton Beach said.

"We're kind of in a unique situation. We have Ontario rules to follow but we do have a Michigan option for that sector."

"They will do their own business case. So long as it benefits their bottom line, then we do see the waste head across the river," Hamilton Beach said.

Neither Girardi nor Hamilton Beach provided much information about the Sault's IC&I shipments, but it's known that many municipalities produce more IC&I waste than residential garbage.

"There are no border issues with any waste crossing the border?" Butland asked.

"Not to my knowledge," Hamilton Beach replied. "We lose other IC&I waste east of here. People have different tipping fees for different materials. It's ultimately a competitive business that we find ourselves in. In Ontario there are stricter rules that we have to operate to. That affects our bottom line."

Said Butland: "The negative is we're losing revenue - tipping fees - because I assume industrial commercial and institutional are transporting their waste to Dafter, Michigan."

Mayor sees upside

Mayor Christian Provenzano also joined the conversation about the travelling trash.

"On the upside, we don't have the waste in our landfill," the mayor said.

That's important because the Sault's landfill has just seven more years of use before it must close.

The city is currently involved in an environmental assessment that might extend  the landfill's life.

Household hazardous waste depot is moving

In other news, Girardi said that his department will ask for funds next year to move the household hazardous waste depot to the landfill.

Provincial approval for the move was received last week.