(WWJ) Do can and bottle returns still make sense for Michigan? That's the question amid a new push to do away with the Michigan Bottle Deposit Law.
The Midwest Independent Retailers Association (MIRA) says the law is costly, outdated, inconvenient and increasing ignored — in addition to health hazards in grocery stores, with overflowing bins and sticky floors and machines.
In an interview Monday with WWJ Newsradio 950's Pat Vitale, MIRA President Bill Wild said he'd like to see the state move toward more modern curbside and community-based recycling programs.
Wild said ditching the so-called "Bottle Bill" would mean a savings for many people, because there would be no longer be a 10 cent bottle deposit required.
"You know, it's syphoning away from family grocery budgets, and it's an expensive endeavor," Wild told Vitale. "And that's why we're calling on the governor to get involved with this."
"We actually were part of a recent study that was put together by the University of Michigan that says the Bottle Bill creates $127 million in cost pressures on the retail industry annually; about $35 million for distributors, and about $90 million for retailers. And so a repeal of these costs would certainly take a lot of pressure off of prices."
Wild said the original purpose of the Michigan Bottle Deposit Law — now 50 years old — was to reduce roadside litter.
But Wild said data shows Michiganders have gotten a lot better about that, with more and more residents having access to convenient recycling.
Bottle Bill return rates, meanwhile, are falling fast — down to 70.4% in 2024 from a nearly 100% level in years past, according to the Detroit Free Press.
"We want to commend Governor Whitmer. She's taken stances in her seven years as governor so far to expand recycling opportunities across the state," Wild said. "We're asking her, in her last year, to use some of that popularity to keep this thing (recycling) going. I think it could be something that could be a legacy for her as she moves on."
Because it was a citizen initiative to put the Bottle Bill into Michigan's constitution, two-thirds of the state legislature would have to vote to put a question on the ballot.
To overturn the law, the ballot question would need 51% support from Michigan voters.
Wild said they're hoping Gov. Whitmer agrees with the plan, and will get the conversation started when she makes her State of the State address this week.