LANSING (WWJ) — A bill to expand Michigan's Beverage Container Law to include water bottles and other containers has passed through a Senate committee Thursday, but its future remains very much in doubt.
When it was put into effect nearly 50 years ago, Michigan’s 10-cent deposit law largely succeeded in preventing beer and pop bottles and cans from being thrown on the side of the road.
Now, Democratic Sen. Sean McCann of Kalamazoo is seeking to expand the so-called bottle bill through a voter referendum.
“In the next statewide general election in 2026, the question of whether to expand Michigan’s existing bottle law to accept more containers — particularly plastic water bottles — and to establish universal redemption for all containers with a deposit.”
Grocery stores and other retailers, however, are pushing back. The Michigan Retailers Association estimates the legislation could cost retailers $500 million annually, according to The Detroit News.
Derek Bajema, President of the Michigan Beverage Association, said Thursday the proposal would also “vastly improve the opportunities for deposit fraud.”
In the end, the proposed new bottle deposit law did pass through the Committee of Energy and Environment, but whether it will actually be addressed in the remaining “lame duck” Senate session is a big question mark.
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