KALAMAZOO, Mich — A proposed bill in Michigan would ensure retailers are accepting bottle deposit returns between the hours of 8 a.m. and 11 p.m. or whatever hours they are open in that range.
State Representative Julie M. Rogers (D-Kalamazoo) introduced House Bill 5421 which would amend the current bill, which has no minimum time period for retailers to accept bottle deposit returns.
This has led to retailers making deposit return services more frequently unavailable and for short periods of time, Rep. Rogers said.
"It's a very simple concept," Rep. Rogers said during testimony Wednesday in front of the House Regulatory Reform Committee.
Rep. Rogers says she has heard from several people in her district who have had trouble returning cans at stores and recently tried to return 48 cans but the store told her they didn't accept bottle returns on Sunday.
"When I asked if I could come back tomorrow with my cans, the manager said yes, but only between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m.," Rogers told the committee.
“Michigan’s historic bottle deposit law has been instrumental in reducing litter, landfill waste and promoting recycling since its inception in 1976,” Rogers said.
“Retailers play a crucial role in this process, but some have not fulfilled their responsibility, especially for working people. While the vast majority of retailers have embraced this partnership and worked to make returns convenient for consumers, some retailers, particularly those serving our economically disadvantaged communities, have not lived up to their responsibility to support deposit returns.”
But not everyone agrees with the bill.
Jerry Griffin, vice president of government affairs for the Midwest Independent Retailers Association, spoke against the bill on Wednesday.
"The vast majority of our members are small business owners whose stores do not have reverse vending machines and which requires the employees to hand count filthy, unhygienic returnables while other customers wait in line," Griffin said. "So it's an inconvenience to those customers as well."
Griffin also talked about how often the machines break down and how some business owners do not have the money to constantly fix the machines.
"It's inefficient, it's expensive and in our view, the best way to make this convenient for consumers in general is to make all recyclable materials enter into one system," Griffin said.
Tom Emmerich, Chief Operating Officer with Schupan, a company that picks up the bottles and cans to recycle them, testified in support of the bill.
Emmerich says Michigan's return rate for containers has consistently been greater than 90% prior to the pandemic. But more recently, the rate has dropped to about 75% and said the proposed bill will get that number back up.
"This will create consistency across all redemption locations and make refunds available to consumers doing the right thing by taking the deposit containers back to their local retailers," he said.
The bill needs to be passed by the House and Senate before moving forward.
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Watch 13 ON YOUR SIDE for free on Roku, Amazon Fire TV Stick, and on your phone.