FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. – Lorna Slenkai was out with her best bud, her dog named Magnum, for their afternoon stroll in Farmington Hills.
A few weeks ago, though, she noticed something strange on the road.
“If you’ve seen oil sheens, it’s like the rainbow, the sheen that will go all the way down,” said Slenkai.
She says GFL trash trucks were leaving behind a trail of so-called ‘Garbage Juice,’ sometimes along a mile stretch.
“Nothing should be leaking out of those trucks because it does create a hazard,” Slenkai said.
She turned to social media and quickly realized she wasn’t the only one concerned.
“I was getting responses,” Slenkai said. “We live in Melvindale, and we have it. We live over in Lamar, and we have this. We live over in Kendellwood, and we’re seeing this too.”
The Department of Public Works in Farmington Hills says they were recently informed of the leak and are working with GFL to fix it.
“There shouldn’t be any fluid coming from a garbage truck, whether that’s from the garbage itself or oils or hydraulic fluid,” said DPW Superintendent Derrick Schueller in Farmington Hills. “There shouldn’t be anything coming from the trucks, so we take it seriously.”
Slenkai says she’s worried for Magnum’s health and for her neighbors.
“It’s not just bad for the dogs as then you’ve got to Dawn scrub their feet, plus if it runs into the ground, what’s going through the ground into the groundwater because eventually, it will seep through,” Slenkai said.
“GFL Environmental has dispatched a crew to remediate this issue. While this is an infrequent occurrence, there are standard protocols we follow in these situations.”
Joe Munem from GFL Environmental