December 25, 2007

No deposit, no return; expanding bottle bill
By ALEX DOTY

IONIA - One of several states with laws regarding beverage bottle recycling, some in Michigan hope to increase the scope of the state's bottle bill to include more container types.

One example of work being done to expand the types of bottles allowed to be returned is with legislation introduced at the beginning of 2007 by Sen. Michael Switalski, D-Roseville.

Although there has been no recent action on the legislation, it would change the current bottle bill so it included containers holding non-alcoholic carbonated and non-carbonated drinks.

“I guess I would agree that they should do that,” said Bob Patrick of Fred's Food Centre in Ionia.

Despite seeing the need for the bottle return, he did say there are some drawbacks, mainly in the form of store cleanliness and bottle return machine costs.

Patrick said one of the most unsanitary spots in a grocery store is probably the bottle return area.

Under the state's current bottle bill, which was enacted in the late 1970s, people can redeem beer, pop, carbonated mineral water, wine coolers and canned cocktails.

The aim of the legislation was to reduce the amount of roadside litter and help the environment.

According to Department of Environmental Quality statistics, the state collected almost $416 million worth of deposits in 2006 and redeemed about 96 percent of those deposits.

Although some would like to see the bottle bill expanded, not everyone agrees with ideas being tossed around to expand the bottle return laws.

“We certainly hope it isn't expanded if customers are meant to return them to grocery stores,” Michigan Grocers Association President Linda Gobler said, adding it turns places that are supposed to be safe and sanitary into garbage dumps.

Instead, Gobler said legislators and lawmakers should look at more comprehensive recycling plans.

Michigan isn't the only place weighing on the potential impact a new bottle bill would provide, as the issue is also garnering nationwide attention.

U.S. Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., introduced legislation in November that would call for levying a five cent deposit on all beverage containers.

States which already have deposit programs would be exempt from the new legislation as long as they maintain high recycling rates.