LANSING, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – State Senator Sean McCann of Kalamazoo has reintroduced legislation that would allow the legislature to place the question of whether to expand Michigan’s Bottle Deposit Law before voters in 2026.
McCann has pushed for expanding the Bottle Deposit Law since he joined the Michigan House of Representatives in 2011, introducing legislation in every legislative session he has served in the House and the Senate.
Provisions of his proposals include:
Universal Redemption — allows beverage containers to be returned anywhere, wherein any dealer that sells any container subject to a deposit must accept any container for redemption regardless of whether the dealer sells that specific product or not.
Expansion of Deposit to Other Beverage Containers — expands the deposit to include all beverage containers one gallon or less, including water bottles, and provides exemptions for milk, infant formulas, and fruit and vegetable juices in containers one half-gallon or greater, and freezable containers.
Maintaining Current Bottle Deposit Value — maintains the current $0.10 deposit for all containers this proposal would be expanded to.
Data Transparency — makes data regarding the performance of the program public, including the rate of return, types of containers in which a deposit was initiated by county, types of containers for which a deposit was redeemed by county, and the value, contributions, and expenditures of the various funds this act would support.
In 1976, Michigan citizens initiated what’s now known as Michigan’s “Bottle Bill” to promote recycling and prevent the littering of containers for soft drinks, soda water, carbonated water, and other eligible cans and bottles.
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