New York Should Protect Its Land, and Washington Should Pursue a 100% Tariff on Canadian Garbage
WATERTOWN, N.Y. | November 3, 2026 | Watertown Post Editorial
America’s Golden Age should mean stronger communities, cleaner land and a government willing to put the interests of its own people first. Here in the North Country, that means taking a hard look at an arrangement that deserves far more public attention: Canadian garbage being hauled across the border for disposal on American soil. We welcome our Canadian neighbors, their business and their friendship. We do not believe that friendship obligates New York to provide landfill space for another country’s refuse.
The scale of this business is substantial. Waste to Resource Ontario, an industry association, reports that Ontario exported approximately 3.44 million metric tonnes of waste to U.S. landfills in 2024. That represented 27% of the waste Ontario sent to landfills that year, with Michigan, New York and Ohio identified as the principal American destinations. Those figures concern Ontario, not all of Canada, and they do not mean that all of that waste came to New York. They nevertheless establish that exporting garbage to the United States is a major part of Ontario’s disposal system. Waste to Resource Ontario’s landfill report
The North Country has a documented connection to that trade. The Clinton County Regional Landfill’s 2022 annual report, filed with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, lists 1,053.65 tons of municipal solid waste received by direct haul from Quebec. This is a historical record, not a count of trucks crossing the border today. It does not identify their crossing or establish that Canadian garbage travels through Ogdensburg, Massena or the Thousand Islands Bridge. It does show that Canadian waste disposal in Northern New York is a real issue that deserves serious public scrutiny. Clinton County Regional Landfill’s 2022 report, Section 7
Washington has now taken a significant step. President Donald Trump’s October 23 proclamation extended a 50% additional tariff to specified Canadian products beginning October 30, 2026. The accompanying list includes municipal waste, sewage sludge and clinical waste under designated tariff classifications. That is a targeted measure, not a blanket 50% tariff on every material someone might call waste. We support a firmer approach to these imports and believe the policy should go further. October 23 presidential proclamation and covered products, Annex I
The Watertown Post supports a 100% tariff on Canadian garbage imported for disposal. The administration and Congress should establish a lawful, enforceable policy that makes the protection of American landfill capacity a national priority. The proclamation itself notes that Section 338 limits the additional duties authorized under that provision to 50%. Moving to 100% therefore requires a lawful basis beyond simply doubling this particular levy. Congress should do the work necessary to make that stronger policy possible rather than leaving communities with another round of promises. Authority described in the proclamation
Our purpose is to discourage these shipments and push Canada to take greater responsibility for its own disposal needs. A tariff should be judged by whether it helps achieve that goal, rather than by the size of the number in a headline. Officials must explain how imported waste is valued, how the charge is collected and whether it actually changes the economics of sending garbage south. A 100% tariff should not be advertised as a guarantee that disposal costs will double or that every truck will turn around. It should be part of a serious effort to reduce this trade and protect the communities asked to accommodate it.
Landfill space is a finite resource. Once that capacity has been used, it cannot simply be restored for the next generation. Nor does responsibility end when a truck unloads and the operator collects a disposal fee. Federal requirements for municipal solid waste landfills generally provide for 30 years of post-closure care, subject to adjustment by the responsible state program. Monitoring, maintenance and financial safeguards exist because disposing of waste creates obligations that extend well beyond the original transaction. Those obligations deserve a place in every discussion about the benefits of accepting imported garbage. EPA landfill requirements
Landfill operators and waste haulers will understandably point to revenue and jobs. Those considerations belong in the discussion, but so do the interests of nearby residents and future generations. New Yorkers deserve clear figures showing how much Canadian waste each receiving facility accepts, what revenue it generates, how much permitted capacity it uses and how long-term care is funded. Public officials should be able to explain why accepting another country’s garbage serves the people who live here. A profitable arrangement for a disposal business is not, by itself, a complete answer to that question.
Canada’s reputation for environmental responsibility should come with responsibility for the waste it produces. It is a whole lot easier to keep your backyard clean when you are paying somebody else to take out your trash. Americans have plenty of waste problems of our own, and we must do better at reducing waste, recycling useful materials and managing what remains. That obligation strengthens our case for protecting domestic capacity. It gives us every reason to expect the same seriousness from our neighbors rather than allowing export arrangements to substitute for difficult decisions at home.
A Golden Age worthy of the name should leave our children a country that is stronger, more prosperous and better cared for. In the North Country, that includes treating our land as something more valuable than available space on a disposal contract. We want Canadian tourists in our shops, customers in our restaurants and productive commerce moving across our bridges. We also want leaders willing to defend American communities when a commercial arrangement deserves to be reconsidered. Washington should pursue a lawful 100% tariff on Canadian garbage for disposal, and New York should make protection of its own communities and landfill capacity a clear priority. Our position is straightforward: We do not want Canada’s waste.
The Watertown Post Editorial Board
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