LANSING - A truck from Canada disgorged human waste on Telegraph Road in Flat Rock early Wednesday, leading state Rep. Gabe Leland (D-Detroit) to urge the Legislature to crack down immediately on imported trash.
"Our communities are not toilets," Rep. Leland said. "Trucks hauling trash from Canada affects all of us in Michigan. This is a danger to our neighborhoods, our water systems and our environment."
Flat Rock police said the truck from Canada discharged treated human waste on Telegraph and East Huron River Drive on its way to the Carleton Farms landfill in Sumpter Township. Police said a block of Telegraph was covered in waste and the area was quarantined.
"Let today's catastrophe in Flat Rock be a lesson to all of us," Rep. Leland said. "A major road is closed and local agencies are spending lots of money trying to deal with this problem. This hits taxpayers in their pockets and it can happen anywhere. Today, it's Flat Rock. Tomorrow, it could be in Detroit. We have to stop imported trash."
Trash trucks from Canada have been involved in previous high-profile incidents:
* In 2002 and 2003, several trucks were caught carrying radioactive medical waste.
* In 2003, a truck was caught with a ton of marijuana hidden in garbage.
* A Sumpter Township woman was struck by two trucks making runs to the Carleton Farm landfill in one day in 2003.
In February, House Democrats unveiled a sweeping plan that included a $7.50-per-ton dumping charge on trash headed to Michigan landfills. More than 400 trash trucks enter Michigan from Canada each day.