U.S. senators move to block Toronto's trash

The U.S. Senate has used national securityin its most recent attemptto keep Southern Ontario's garbage out of Michigan.

The Senate voted Thursday to have the companies that haul the trash pay for comprehensive security inspections at the border,estimatedat $420 US a truck. There are no fees today.

"In addition to improved screening of trash for security threats, the steep inspection fees… are an important step toward making it unprofitable for Canada to dump its trash in Michigan," Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow said in a release headlined"Stabenow scores victory on Canadian trash."

She wants theadministration to stop the garbage imports completely, but until then, "it should be the Canadian trash-haulers, not American taxpayers, footing the bill for these inspections," Stabenow said.

If the measure is approved by the House of Representatives, the cost of dumping garbage from Southern Ontariowould jump by nearly $150,000 US a day. About 350 truckloads cross into Michigan every day, a third from Toronto and the rest from the surrounding regionsof Peel, Durham and York, and private companies, the city's website said.

The Department of Homeland Security said that it takesfour customs agents four hours to inspect a truck. Inspections have found hazardous medical waste, radioactive materials, illegal drugs and counterfeit money. Because the searches are inadequate,"the trucks are an attractive target for terrorists and other criminals," Stabenow said.

Dumping Ontario garbage has become a hot issue in Michigan, but it's also a money-maker for the companies that carry the trash and the municipalities that get dumping fees.

Michigan's othersenator,Carl Levin, worked with Stabenow to sponsor thegarbage legislation, an amendment to the fiscal2007 homeland security appropriations bill.