Commissioners advance amendment to allow limited expansion of Pine Tree Acres landfill
Loading...
Summary
Waste Management urged the committee to approve a county solid waste plan amendment allowing a 236.5-acre site expansion at Pine Tree Acres in Lenox Township, which company officials said would add roughly 135 acres of disposal area and extend local disposal capacity by about 25 years; commissioners asked about local sentiment, Canadian waste deliveries, recycling capacity and long-term alternatives.
Waste Management told the Macomb County Board of Commissioners committee on Feb. 14 that it seeks approval of an amendment to the county solid waste management plan to allow a limited expansion of the Pine Tree Acres landfill in Lenox Township.
“We recommend that this board ... approve the proposed amendment to the county solid waste management plan and authorize it to be submitted to the Macomb County municipalities for local approval,” Jake Howlett, representing Waste Management and the Pine Tree Acres team, said during a presentation to the committee. Howlett said the amendment is already in an extended public-comment period and that municipal approval by 67% of the county’s municipalities will be required after county approval.
Howlett said the amendment would site an additional 236.5 acres adjacent to the existing landfill footprint, with about 135 of those acres developed as additional disposal area. He said the practical effect would be to extend the landfill’s operational capacity by roughly 25 years, avoiding what he characterized as a potential future need to site a new landfill elsewhere.
Commissioners asked about local reaction and the impact of out‑of‑county and international deliveries. Commissioner Hall asked whether surrounding residents supported the expansion; Howlett said he believed resistance had lessened and that Lenox Township officials were supportive and in attendance. When asked whether Canadian waste still comes into Pine Tree Acres, Howlett answered that Canadian waste does move into Michigan and lands at Pine Tree Acres among other facilities, and that the issue is largely federal in scope and not something the county can prohibit.
The presentation emphasized related benefits beyond disposal capacity: a proposed recycling transfer station at Pine Tree Acres to send collected recyclables to a new Detroit recycling facility (described as having capacity to process up to 144,000 tons annually), and capture of landfill gas used to support renewable energy that Howlett said currently powers more than 19,000 homes and several major employers.
Commissioners also raised questions about long-term planning and alternatives. Staff and WM representatives said the expansion was intended as a planned, engineered addition onto WM’s existing footprint and that the county is conducting a separate, longer-term materials management planning process (MMP) that is expected to conclude in 2027.
The committee voted to move the amendment forward; the motion on this agenda item was recorded as passing unanimously in committee.
