'Less waste sent to landfill' in Michigan

The amount of waste being sent to landfill sites in the US state of Michigan has decreased for the third consecutive year, it has been claimed.

According to data from the department of environment quality (DEQ), landfill sites in the state received 57.1 million tonnes of waste in 2008, compared to 58.1 million in 2007.

The state receives 10.7 million cubic yards of waste from Canada annually - something that the DEQ wants to change in the future.

Steve Chester, director of the department, stated that "imported trash continues to utilise more and more of our landfill space and that must change."

Meanwhile, more waste went to landfill in Ireland last year than will be allowed by the European Union over the coming years, said the Environmental Protection Agency.