Michiganders are returning fewer bottles and cans. Why?

Yahoo

14 hours ago

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The value of a dime doesn't stretch as far as it did in 1976 when the state's bottle deposit law was initiated, but for many Michiganders, returning beverage containers to get their 10 cents back sure adds up.
'I don't want to throw my pennies and dimes away,' Grand Rapids resident Mildred Griffin said. 'The cost of living is so high right now. You would be a fool to throw away 10 cents.'
For Griffin, returning bottles and cans is a way of life. She said it's like getting paid to recycle. She was surprised to learn that fewer people are turning in their bottles to get that dime back. Statewide return rates have fallen to their lowest point. In 2024, just over 70% of bottles and cans were returned.
Workers at a number of local markets told News 8 they have seen fewer returns in recent years. At Kingma's Market in Grand Rapids, owner Alan Hartline said the redemption process adds complications to store owners. He said the process, from collecting to sorting, is in serious need of an update.
'It really taxes the supply chain and adds a lot of cost to it for businesses,' he said, 'I think there can be a better way to facilitate it. It should be earth friendly, but perhaps to do it without the cost and as many hoops as the current process today.'
Sen. Sean McCann, D-Kalamazoo, also believes there's a need for change, including an expansion.
'Even though we've come off our highs, habits have changed, there's a real ability to still improve our system and make it get better,' he said.
McCann reintroduced a bill to modify the bottle return law to include other containers, primarily plastic water bottles.
'I think it's terrible that we have over 2 billion plastic water bottles that don't necessarily get recycled and often get landfilled and are not eligible for the deposit,' he said.
He's also pushing for bottles and cans to be returnable anywhere — not just at chains that carry the brands being returned. He said that is part of the reason the rates are dropping.
'Part of the bugaboo is a universal redemption,' he said. 'You buy something at one store (but) you can't take it back to the other store.'
For McCann, the goal is to get the issue on the ballot and let the citizens decide.
'This is not something worth giving up on for me,' he said.
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