Passed by voters in 1976, the stateās bottle return law for decades prompted high recycling rates, hitting 89% in 2019. Rates dropped during a complete system shutdown at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and havenāt recovered, falling to 75.6% in 2022.
āThis is a real concernā¦where stores will sell you products, but they will not take them back,ā Rep. Tyrone Carter, D-Detroit, said Tuesday during a House Regulatory Reform Committee hearing. āIt started with COVID, but now weāve ballooned to a ridiculous amount of folks that will not take them back.ā
Industry statistics indicate that Michiganās redemption rate exceeds most states with deposit laws, with 70% of cans being returned in California and New York and just 38% in Massachusetts.
Now, see! Thereās something positive about ingrained Michigan culture! Three-quarters of us give a ratās ass and donāt litter the great state of Michigan with cans and bottles!
Jerry Griffin, vice president of government affairs for the Midwest Independent Retailers Association, told lawmakers that consumers may simply be tired of carting bottles and cans to the store, advocating for a one-size-fits-all recycling program encouraging people to put their returnables in the recycling bin. [ā¦] āThere is a lot of fatigue out there,ā Griffin said. āTo suggest that thatās only because a certain handful of small business retailers are limiting hours for people to bring things back, I think, is ignoring a larger question at hand.ā
Oh, please. Fatigue. Thatās like the nine-year-old crabbing about having to make their bed: āAwwww, Iām just gonna sleep in it tonight anywaaaaaay.ā Sounds like itās the retailers that SeƱor Griffin represents that just donāt feel like keeping up their end of the bargainā¦
Rep. Julie Rogers, a Kalamazoo Democrat and the billās sponsor, said the state needs a statewide standard. [ā¦] During spot checks in her district, Rogers said she found retailers who donāt accept returns on Sundays, long-broken machines, limits on total returnables and short time windows for returns.
Most of the people I know are already carting around USD$5 worth of empty cans and bottles rollinā around in their cars already. Too bad thereās no deposit on fast food packaging, bubble packs or potato chip bags.
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I think stores not taking back certain cans is a bug particularly of it. Iāve definitely bought things a storeās machine rejected. Sure I could take them in and demand they take them, but itās not worth the effort for a couple dollars.
Itās time for stores to take any and all cans, I donāt care if itās a Walmart brand and I went to Kroger to return. Thereās no real punishment for stores not doing their job though.
Itās time for stores to take any and all cans, I donāt care if itās a Walmart brand and I went to Kroger to return.
Agreed. As long as the bottle/can is relatively clean (not crushed nor a makeshift ashtray), itās part of the contract between retailers and the State of Michiganā¦and of course, the customers.
As a Michigan resident, I think part of the problem is the 10 cent deposit hasnāt changed since it was enacted 50 years ago. 10 cents used to get you a lot further than today. A relative told me back in the '80s when he was struggling that he would go through public garbage bins for pop cans and return them to get himself lunch for that day. Canāt exactly do that now unless you find several hundred cans and bottles and have a way to transport them.
Hell, I remember seeing a Seinfeld episode where Cramer takes a van-full of New York returnables and brings them to Michigan to double his earnings. I donāt think he was successful.
If we want to keep this system and keep recycling high, I think we need to raise the deposit to 25 cents or more per bottle/can. That may encourage drinkers to start recycling again. Though I also realize that will piss off a lot of people.
And/Or include the deposit on literally every bottle and can sold in the state. Not just carbonated beverages.Edit: formatting
I too had contemplated raising the deposit to 20Ā¢ but you know, even though that money returns to your pocket, people are going to have conniptions anyway! I do think anything higher that 25Ā¢ is excessive, though. Keep in mind the point of this exercise isnāt an āalternative welfare schemeā but to recycle the materials and to keep Michigan clean.
I do think a big part of the problem is the smaller retailers not making it easy to return cans and bottles for whatever excuse. Anyone who sells product in Michigan with a bottle/can deposit is part of the chain and has to hold up their end of the contract. I canāt tell you how many times Iāve tried to return bottles with the retailer saying, āsorry, we donāt carry that brand here.ā Who cares? Itās got a deposit on it and, as a retailer in the State of Michigan, youāre responsible for that. I didnāt buy this (minimally) winning lottery ticket here either! Are you not gonna pay out on that?
Oh, and any scheme that involves an āunaccounted-forā US Mail truck to deliver bottles and cans out-of-state is doomed to fail!
Iād rather not pay an extra $2.40 for a 12 pack on top of the currently inflated prices. $1.20 is already bad enough.
Imagine how much that extra $1.20 felt in the '80s. And they put up with that.
Also, thatās what recycling the cans is for. You get the deposit back and can use that to supplement your next purchase. And then return those to supplement your next purchase. And then returnā¦Edit: According to the inflation calculator, $1.20 in 1984 would be $3.58 today.
Not returning bottles does not equate to not recycling. At $0.10/can itās just not worth it to me to store the cans and cart them to the store - especially with how few we go through (less than 10/week). We put them in our curbside recycling instead.
Two things have changed since this law was originally introduced: the prevalence of curbside recycling and inflation. According to the BLS, $0.10 in 1976 is worth over $0.50 today. I would probably revert back to store returns for $5.00/week.
Not returning bottles does not equate to not recycling.
Nobody said it doesā¦butā¦
From the Freep from pre-COVID19 November 29, 2018ā¦
From bottles that are never returned, 75 percent of the paid tax goes to the stateās Cleanup and Redevelopment Trust Fund, while the remaining 25 percent goes to retailers.
Nevertheless, while I sincerely am happy to hear your family recycles your bottles and cans (as well as consuming trivial amounts of HFCS), you are as the edumacated say outlier with your less-than-two-six-pack-weekly lifestyle. Iām also glad you can afford to literally toss c.USD$4.00 a month in the
trashrecycling bin. Cheers!If you or anyone else reading is interestedā¦
- Recycle, Michigan: Michiganās Deposit Law
- The State of Michiganās Bottle Deposit FAQ
- Awww, cute! Recycling Racoons!
