NO NEW LANDFILL!
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
Washtenaw County will soon review a proposal from Green for Life (GFL) to operate a NEW LANDFILL in Salem Township for the next 50+ years. The Conservancy Initiative cautions county officials to do their due diligence, including speaking directly with EGLE about the current landfill's environmental performance.
At a recent Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners meeting, an employee of Green for Life (GFL) presented the "GFL version" of the PFAS contamination that has been entering Johnson Creek since at least 2020. PFAS are long-lasting, man-made chemicals that pose significant health and environmental risks. The failure of both GFL and the previous operator of the Arbor Hills Landfill to act promptly has allowed PFAS contamination to spread within the landfill fence line, into Johnson Creek, and likely into fish caught there.
Please attend the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners meeting on Wednesday, February 4th, at 7 PM (details below) to show your support for this resolution.
The Washtenaw County Environmental Council advises on policies that protect the health, safety, environment, and quality of life of Washtenaw County residents. On Tuesday, January 27, the Environmental Council unanimously adopted a resolution opposing the proposed NEW LANDFILL in Salem Township. View Resolution. This resolution will be transmitted to the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners and is expected to be included in the Board's meeting materials for its February 4 meeting.
The Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners is the most important decision‑making body in the approval process for the proposed NEW LANDFILL and represents the best opportunity to stop the NEW LANDFILL from moving forward. Residents who share the Environmental Council's concerns are therefore strongly encouraged to attend this meeting and use the opening public comment period to briefly state their opposition to the proposed new landfill and their support for the Environmental Council's resolution.
The Board of Commissioners will meet on Wednesday, February 4, at 7:00 PM in the Board Room of the Administrative Building, 220 N Main Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48107. Members of the public are invited to attend, and there is a public comment period at the beginning of the meeting during which any attendee may speak for up to three minutes. Please speak up in support of this resolution.
If you have questions about attending this event or would like to carpool, please contact Leslie Evans at leslievans@comcast.net.
Nearly 300 residents packed the room for our recent Stop Arbor Hills Town Hall—and what an incredible turnout it was! We saw many familiar faces and were thrilled to welcome so many new community members who share our commitment to protecting our environment and quality of life. <CLICK HERE> for a copy of the presentation material.
Arbor Hills continues to mismanage the landfill. The latest evidence shows 90 odor complaints in just 15 days, during the coldest part of the year. We shouldn't let such a poorly managed landfill expand. One way we can do this is by collecting signatures on a public petition to the committee responsible for deciding on the new landfill.
EGLE's Waste Data System (WDS) has been updated to include FY2025 (Oct 2024 – Sept 2025) information from all Michigan landfills. We've included a screenshot of the latest data for Arbor Hills. Below are several facts demonstrating that a NEW LANDFILL is not needed. Reducing landfill capacity will encourage recycling and reduce landfill waste. Note – the WDS data is reported in cubic yards and is converted to tons in the charts below.
The Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners is the most important approval GFL needs to allow a NEW LANDFILL. GFL is actively lobbying Board members by inviting them to tour the landfill and painting a rosy picture of its operations.
The Board of Commissioners needs to hear both sides of the story. Letters or emails to the Commissioners only take a few minutes.
We need the community to act now to prevent a NEW LANDFILL in Salem Township. This post contains instructions for attending and commenting at public meetings, as well as for contacting elected officials. The time is NOW. A decision is expected within six months. Please read and take action! A Town Hall is being scheduled for mid-January to answer your questions and provide more details.
Green for Life’s record at the Arbor Hills landfill shows a consistent “minimal compliance” approach—only addressing environmental standards when absolutely necessary and often using the enforcement process to delay significant upgrades. The company’s inability to reliably meet PFOS discharge limits, despite years of warnings and updated regulations, demonstrates a reluctance to invest in effective treatment technology until regulators exert pressure.
A sample taken directly downstream of the small tributary, which drains stormwater runoff from the Arbor Hills Landfill, contained 83 ng/l of PFOS (a forever chemical), which exceeds the legal limit of 12 ng/l.
In June 2021, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) became aware that the Arbor Hills Landfill was discharging stormwater runoff into Johnson Creek. EGLE issued a violation notice (VN-011821) requiring a detailed study of the PFOS contamination and promising an Administrative Consent Order to correct the illegal discharges. Four years have passed, yet EGLE has not issued the Consent Order, and the stormwater discharge from Arbor Hills continues to exceed water quality standards for PFOS.
Many residents recently received a letter from the law firm Liddle Sheets P.C.s requesting information for a potential class action lawsuit against the Arbor Hills Landfill. The Conservancy Initiative has attempted to contact Liddle Sheets P.C., but we have not received a return call. We are writing to share our perspective and recommend that residents do not respond to this request. Our community must remain united and focused on a single goal: stopping the proposed new landfill in Salem Township. NO NEW LANDFILL!
The Conservancy Initiative is concerned that EGLE and some of our local leaders are growing numb to Arbor Hill’s nearly constant odors. 207 Odor Complaints were received during the first 59 days of 2025. The odor complaints are real, not fabricated or coordinated. They originated from 109 unique residents and resulted from the excess emission and noxious odors from the Arbor Hills Landfill.
Odors from the Arbor Hills Landfill are increasing, and little is being done. The Conservancy Initiative believes the perimeter monitors located on the eastern border of the Arbor Hills landfill should be used as the basis for violations and penalties. Polluters must be held responsible; Green for Life must not be rewarded with permission to build a new landfill adjacent to the problematic Arbor Hills Landfill. NO NEW LANDFILL.
The Conservancy Initiative is asking our Representatives to consider sponsoring legislation to impose a tax or tariff on all trash imported from Canada. If you agree, please use the links at the end of this post to tell our Senators and Representatives you support a tariff on all trash imported from Canada.
The Conservancy Initiative received 100 odor complaints in the first 25 days of January. Most of the odors were reported on six horrific days when the wind blew toward Northville and correlated closely with elevated methane (CH4) concentrations detected by the landfill's emission detection systems. Notably, these odors occurred on some of the year's coldest days, when no residents had open windows and few ventured outside.
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