One of Michigan’s hot political topics today is the fact that a foreign country, Canada, is bringing a lot of their trash to Michigan landfills.  Somehow it does seem as if we are quite busy deciding ways to handle the trash generated here in Michigan, and the concept of allowing out-of-country trash to be added to this is being roundly debated and yet to be settled, with both state and federal government regulations involved.

However, as this is being discussed, there are many area businesses effectively dealing with that pesky stuff we no longer want that we often simply term “trash.”  For many years most of us were part of the “disposable society” in that we didn’t complain when the substance of the packaging would sometimes be as great as what was in that package; we just threw the unwanted packaging away.  For years my father listened to his old Zenith radio even when the reception was so crackling that he was constantly straining to hear whether his Tigers were winning or losing.  Now we buy a radio and carry it with us for a while; discover a newer, better iPod; and just throw the outdated radio away.  Well, fortunately there are people who know what to do with our items that are simply discarded or have outlived their usefulness.

These businesspeople know how to recycle, reuse, or properly dispose of our trash.  Amazingly to me, there are those who have devised ways to use the byproduct of some of our refuse as a source of energy for lighting and heating homes and businesses.  While as consumers most of us have learned to be more environmentally conscious about our purchases and about what we discard, these businesses are there to collect the still large amounts of trash that we inevitably generate.  As you read this issue, I believe you’ll be impressed with the variety and efficiency of their work today, along with their commitment to solving the industry’s needs in the future.

Thank you for being with us again this month.  As always, we appreciate your friendship and wish you a very prosperous month.

		Chris Holman Publisher