(WWJ) Turn 'em in if you got 'em ... Today marks the return of Michiganders' ability to cash in on empty bottle and cans.
But it's not as simple as that at all locations: WWJ's Ron Dewey -- live and local for WWJ 950 --says there's already a problem at one store.
Norman Binder tells WWJ there were people already in line waiting for the bottle return are to open at the Bellville Meijer he visited early on Monday, until an employee came out to say the machines were not opening because the store "didn't have supplies."
It was extra frustrating because Binder said he made it a point to get to the Belleville Meijer with a bag full of empties that had been sitting in his house the past three months during the COVID shutdown.
"I don't know why Meijer, after three months of shutdown ... You would think if they needed supplies they would have then by now," Binder said. It's unclear what supplies are required to accept bottles and cans.
No explanation was offered for what was meant by supplies. Binder says he hopes this is only an isolated problem.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer ended bottle returns earlier to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Recyclers estimate there is an estimated $65 million in unreturned beverage containers across the state.
Meijer will begin accepting returnable beverage containers at its Michigan stores today, but to help keep things safe and clean, the retailer says the maximum amount you can return during each visit is $25.
