September 6, 2007
Lawmaker wants to crack down on fraudulent bottle returns
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — One dime at a time, Michigan taxpayers and businesses may lose more than $10 million a year when people get refunds on bottles and cans from out of state.
A state lawmaker wants to stop people from claiming the 10-cent Michigan refund on bottles and cans that come from Ohio, Indiana and other states that don't have similar bottle return laws.
Rep. Steve Bieda, D-Warren, detailed legislation Thursday aimed at stopping what he called smuggling of illegal out-of-state bottles and cans.
"It's a big problem, especially in the border areas," Bieda said. "We need to fix it."Bieda's legislation, which has some bipartisan support, would require drink manufacturers to place a bar code label on containers to indicate they may be returned for a deposit in Michigan. Manufacturers that make bottle return machines would have to upgrade their devices so they could tell which containers come from Michigan and which ones don't.
But Bieda said those costs would be limited, and would be worth the expense. Additional benefits could include keeping more soft drink and beer sales in state and discouraging people to cross state lines for their beverage purchases, he said.
Michigan retailers now lose money when they grant container deposit refunds on bottles and cans that weren't bought in the state. And Michigan's government loses a chunk of that revenue, which would go toward environmental cleanup funds.
Bieda said the loss is at least $10 million, based on a 2000 study by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.
http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/michigan/index.ssf?/base/business-13/1189123171220250.xml&storylist=newsmichigan
