Canada and U.S. states as far as California are shipping their trash to Michigan landfills. That’s because it’s cheap — the fees associated with landfill dumping are much lower in Michigan than in other Midwestern states. Governor Gretchen Whitmer is recommending increasing that price.
Whitmer made that recommendation last month when she laid out her fiscal year 2026 budget proposal. The proposed budget aims to increase the current fee of 36 cents per ton of waste to $5 per ton.
Whitmer’s price increase is identical to the one proposed in her budget plan last year. This year’s proposal is different in that it aims to bring more revenue to local communities than previously proposed plans. It also comes amid the nearing of capacity for landfills in populated areas like Lansing and Detroit.
The proposed plan states that the increase would bring Michigan’s fees more in alignment with average fees in the Midwest. It also said the increased “tipping” fees, or landfill dumping fees, would create approximately $80 million in ongoing revenue.
“This funding will be dedicated to environmental remediation, brownfield redevelopment, local waste management assistance and grants, and recycling initiatives, helping clean up Michigan while directly addressing the volume of out-of-state waste, mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, and extending the lifespan of landfills with financial incentives,” the proposal reads.
Democratic state Senator Jeff Irwin, chair of the Senate subcommittee that appropriates funding to the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, said Michigan’s fees are low enough that states are sending solid waste to the mitten state.
“Most of the states around us have tipping fees that range from $5 to even as much as $13 a ton,” Irwin said. “And so that means it's just much cheaper to dump waste here in Michigan. And as a result, we see people driving waste from far away to use our landfills.”
Each year, an average of 12 million cubic yards of waste comes from out of state. That waste is a significant contributor to state greenhouse gas emissions and generates 7 million tons of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, from Michigan waste annually, according to Whitmer’s office.
In fiscal year 2024, more than 24 million tons of solid waste was disposed of in Michigan landfills. That’s a 5.43% increase compared to fiscal year 2023.
At the current rate of waste disposal, Michigan landfills are expected to have about 21 years of remaining disposal capacity.
As Michiganders produce more waste, the rate of imported trash has slightly decreased. About 19% of waste disposed of in Michigan landfills last year was imported from out of state. The largest source of that imported waste comes from Canada, which contributed 14.4%. Michigan also imports trash from U.S. states like Ohio, Indiana, and Massachusetts.
Michigan’s solid waste system is currently undergoing an overhaul after bipartisan legislation passed in 2022. The new plans require counties to make changes like reducing organic matter waste and increasing recycling rates of municipal solid waste to 30% by 2029.
Past attempts to increase tipping fees
Michigan officials have previously attempted to increase a tax on imported trash. Whitmer proposed a hike in tipping fees via her budget recommendations last year. That attempt fell short in the state Legislature after concern from some Michigan lawmakers that costs would fall on schools.
Former Republican Governor Rick Snyder proposed an increase in tipping fees from 36 cents to $3.99 per ton in 2018. That proposal ultimately did not pass in the Republican-controlled Legislature.
Irwin said that political pressure to keep fees and government costs low for consumers and businesses in the state has prevented prior plans from becoming codified.
“But, of course, any time you increase a fee, folks are apprehensive about that. They're worried about how it might affect their budget,” Irwin said. “There's also a political value to pushing back on any fee increase in state government. It gets weaponized politically, and no matter how small that fee is, it gets used against political candidates, and they are therefore sometimes concerned about or even afraid of voting for something that increases fees.”
The Michigan Waste & Recycling Association has spoken out against Whitmer’s proposed increase, citing that the fee increase would make the cost of living and doing business in the state less affordable.
“This continued narrative to increase the state’s solid waste tipping fee will raise the cost of essential services provided to Michigan citizens and businesses,” the organization wrote in a statement to Michigan Public. “An increase of this magnitude would add costs to virtually every resident in the state as well as local governments, hospitals, public safety organizations, and school districts.”
The association has also posted a statement that said the fee would pose a burden to local governments, hospitals, and schools. It stated this financial burden might encourage groups to consider other budget cuts to pay for the surcharge, which would impact Michiganders. The statement is signed also by organizations like the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and the Michigan Manufacturers Association.
Irwin said he believes the cost would not pose a significant burden to large businesses and would likely pose a small price for Michigan households.
“The other reason why I don't think businesses, particularly large businesses, should be very concerned about this is because the amount of money that we're actually talking about is not that large,” Irwin told Michigan Public. “In the context of a hospital budget, when you're talking about adding a few dollars per ton to their waste tipping fees, these are not significant impacts we're talking about on large businesses.”
Experts say more funding and attention needed for contamination sites
Kerrin O’Brien, executive director of the Michigan Recycling Coalition, told Michigan Public that Michigan’s recycling rate lags behind national averages. Due to recent investments in recycling and more recycling opportunities in Michigan's local communities, Michigan is working to close that gap, O’Brien says.
O’Brien also said an increased tipping fee would benefit recycling and composting organizations because those programs would be seen as more affordable in comparison.
“Michigan landfill costs are fairly inexpensive, and it makes it really hard for recycling and composting to compete,” O’Brien said. “And so we do believe that a higher landfill tip fee will make it easier for recycling and composting to compete with landfilling.”
One of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy’s goals for the near future includes overseeing and conducting contaminated site cleanup. Whitmer’s proposal for the tipping fee increase notes that Michigan is confronted with more than 24,000 contaminated sites and the fee revenue would be partly dedicated to environmental remediation.
“I do think that EGLE is most interested in identifying or bringing more funding to contaminated site cleanup, and that is what they are interested in increasing the landfill tip fee surcharge to do, is clean up contaminated sites,” O’Brien told Michigan Public. “And some of those contaminated sites are old landfills, but there are a variety of — and a growing number of — contaminated sites that need our attention.”
O’Brien said that while the proposal addresses remediation, there should be more policies in place that hold waste-producing organizations accountable for their impact on the environment and local communities.
“What I have a little bit of an issue with, or what I think is important to note here, is that if we don't take care of the waste problems we have today, they will become the contaminated sites of tomorrow or the contamination problems of tomorrow,” O’Brien said. “And so I'd like to also see an investment in helping communities better manage this material at the end of life, and this funding may not do that.”
