By Christian Vazquez
Sen. Sean McCann, D-Kalamazoo, is the sponsor of legislation to extend the state’s bottle deposit law, including adding containers of noncarbonated beverages, water and hard cider.
Voters overwhelmingly passed the 10-cent-per-container law in 1976, and McCann’s bill would authorize putting the proposed expansion on the state ballot in November.
However, the Midwest Independent Retailers Association says the state should go in the opposite direction and repeal the current law which applies only to cans and bottles of carbonated beverages.
The industry group has urged Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to support repeal, calling the law “costly, inconvenient and increasingly ignored” and saying it “creates health hazards inside our food stores.”
The association said in a press release that the state should “accelerate its move towards modern curbside and community-based recycling programs that better reflect how Michiganders live, shop and recycle in 2026.”
The current law encourages consumers to clean dirty bottles and cans that hold carbonated beverages and return them to retailers’ collection sites so they can be recycled.
Conan Smith, the president and CEO of the Michigan Environmental Council, says the idea of expanding the deposit law to energy drinks and other beverages is straightforward.
Smith said seven out of 10 people in Michigan want to see the law expanded and that 80% of residents see the law as good for the state.
He said the reason for extending the law is to make it “easier for Michiganders to return any bottle and can.”
And if that many people want to see the law expanded, “why are we even talking about repealing it?” Smith said.
At the time McCann reintroduced his bill last June, he said, “It is well past time to ensure that plastic water bottles are added to eligible containers for a deposit return, and to also establish universal redemption of containers so consumers can easily return them to any store.”
“Including water bottles under the deposit law would help divert over two billion water bottles per year out of landfills,” he said in a press release.
The bill is pending in the Senate Energy and Environmental Committee.
In a related development, the House voted on Feb. 26 to grant an income tax write-off to beverage distributors that move recycled cans and bottles from stores to recycling plants. The intent is to offset some of their costs.
After the vote, the Michigan Beverage Association’s president, Derek Bajema, issued a statement saying, “This legislation ensures that we can continue to make the investments needed to carry out the costly state-imposed system of bottle deposit returns.”
The proposal sponsored by Rep. Joseph Aragona, R-Clinton Township, is awaiting Senate action.