VAN BUREN TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) — Residents and local leaders from Belleville and surrounding communities have been very vocal about stopping hazardous waste from being dumped at a nearby landfill.
It’s an ongoing battle that they say they’re not giving up on.
“We have within a 10 mile radius, we have like 365,000 people pretty much living in the shadow of a nuclear waste dump,” Chris Donley of Belleville said.
Donley is a part of the group Michigan Against Atomic Waste.
The group was created in August of 2024 when residents from Belleville, Canton, Romulus and Van Buren Township learned low-level radioactive waste from New York was going to be dumped at Wayne Disposal Inc. in Van Buren Township.
“We’ve had several town halls to inform the public and open their eyes to what’s going in their backyards,” Donley said.
Previous coverage: Emotions high at town hall as move of radioactive waste set to begin in metro Detroit
Last fall, city leaders filed a lawsuit to stop a shipment of radioactive waste from coming to the landfill.
A judge decided to halt the shipment but that was only temporary.
Previous coverage: Judge suspends delivery of radioactive soil from New York to Michigan
“They’re coming in as we speak — nuclear waste from out of state is coming from other facilities,” Donley said.
“We don’t want Michigan to be a dumping ground,” State Rep. Reggie Miller said.
Miller proposed bills last year to ban other states from dumping hazardous waste in Michigan landfills; it did not pass, but she’s not giving up just yet.
“So we’re reintroducing the bills, we’re holding a press conference in Lansing on April 23rd,” Miller said.
Van Buren Township Supervisor Kevin McNamara is on board with the proposed law.
“We don’t need to be taking in atomic bomb waste,” McNamara said.
I reached out to Wayne Disposal for comment on the proposed law and I was sent this statement:
“Wayne Disposal Inc. (WDI) is a highly engineered facility, designed to safely and compliantly manage complex and hazardous waste streams that are generated through a variety of industrial and other processes. The landfill meets or exceeds all regulations and is an important asset that helps protect the community and the environment.”
Meanwhile for Chris Donley, he says he wants what’s best for his community.
“The reason I’m so passionate about it is because it impacts so many and the results could be absolutely disastrous for this area,” Donley said.
