3 days ago
Michigan's bottle return rates plummet
More Michiganders are skipping the hassle of collecting their 10-cent bottle and can deposits — and the state is making millions in the process.
The big picture: Only 70% of deposits were redeemed last year, the state's lowest rate going back to 1990, state data shows.
Since the pandemic, Michigan's bottle and can return rates have fallen drastically from the 96% annual average from 1990-2019.
Many factors are to blame, including:
People are less incentivized by the 10-cent return, particularly if they have curbside recycling at home.
Bottle return rooms at grocery stores can be unclean, with a foul odor.
Retailers reject containers from brands they don't sell.
Follow the money: As Michigan's deposit redemption rate has fallen, the state has made more money.
More than $116 million went unclaimed last year, leaving $87.6 million to the state, its largest cut on record, Bridge Michigan reports.
Under the law, the first $1 million in unclaimed deposits goes to a state police fund for enforcement.
Of the remainder, 75% goes into a state environmental fund and 25% goes back to the retailers who collect empties.
What they're saying: The data shows Michigan's bottle and can return system isn't working, even as the state's recycling rate reached a new high in April for the fourth straight year, says Drew Beardslee, vice president of government affairs for the Michigan Retailers Association.
"There's this reverse incentive where the state benefits when the system doesn't work, because the amount that goes back to the state is at an all-time high," Beardslee tells Axios.
Catch up quick: Voters approved Michigan's bottle law in 1976 to discourage littering and keep the state's roads, parks and waterways clean.
Michigan's treasury department is in charge of collecting and distributing unredeemed deposits.
State of play: Reforming the law is difficult. Because voters originally approved it through an initiative petition, any change would need to be voter-approved or gain the support of three-quarters of the Legislature, per Bridge.
Environmental groups have proposed expanding the law to include water, juice and sports drink bottles.
Allowing empties to be returned at stores even if they don't sell that brand, known as universal redemption, also has been discussed.
Retailers, however, oppose the law's expansion because it would increase costs.
💭 Joe's thought bubble: After countless rejected craft beer bottles, I decided years ago that my time is more valuable than returning my empties. I just recycle them.
