[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 102 (Wednesday, July 24, 2002)] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page E1340] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] KEEPING CANADIAN TRASH OUT OF MICHIGAN ______ HON. DAVID E. BONIOR of michigan in the house of representatives Tuesday, July 23, 2002 Mr. BONIOR. Mr. Speaker, our state is a cathedral--not a dumping ground for Canadian trash. For nearly 30 years, those of us in Michigan have taken responsibility for our own trash. In the early 1970s, I worked with my colleagues in the State Legislature and the Michigan United Conservation Clubs (MUCC) to make Michigan the first industrial state in the nation to enact a bottle bill. Michigan families wait in line to return their bottles and cans, meanwhile people in Canada and other states throw them in the garbage and truck them into our state. It is long past time to enact a ban on imported trash. I introduced the first bill to allow local communities the ability to say ``no'' to out-of-state and Canadian trash in 1989 and passed it through the House in 1994--only to have Republicans block it in the Senate. Today, Representative Rogers offers an approach that many of us have been talking about for some time. We need to stop these trash trucks at our bridges and make it as difficult as possible for them to do business in Michigan. Ensuring our border agents do not use their scarce resources to facilitate the flow of trash from Canada is a good first step, but we need to do more. We need to enact the Bonior-Dingell-Doyle-Greenwood- Upton legislation, which would allow local communities to ban out-of- state and Canadian trash. I commend Representative Rogers for drawing attention to this critically important issue for Michigan's families and look forward to working with him to enact a permanent ban on imported trash. ____________________