Opinion

David Nyberg: Michigan's need is for expanded bottle deposit law

The LSJ got it right. Legislation lingering in both legislative chambers seeking to "fix" a problem with fraudulent redemption of out-of-state beverage containers is really an illusory effort to avoid the real fix Michigan's bottle law needs:

Updating the law to include non-carbonated beverage containers.

Fraud is a problem that needs to be addressed, however, the bottle law Michigan citizens demanded with a voter-initiated law in 1976 is no longer accomplishing what it was created to do.

Despite being the most successful program of its kind in the country (recycling 97.2 percent of all deposit containers), the problem the law was created to remedy is back with a vengeance.

Water and sports drink bottles are once again blanketing Michigan's landscapes and roadsides, causing unnecessary increases in cleanup costs, hurting the environment and wildlife habitats and even hitting the pockets of farmers with costly damage to farm equipment.

Despite the 97 percent recycle rate the bottle law currently achieves, Michigan only recycles 20 percent of non-deposit containers, throwing away and littering 1.12 billion non-degradable containers each year.

But the same old rhetoric from the 1970s is being used to cloud policy-makers' judgment. Except this time, the "we can't do it" attitude is not the only line of defense - the issue of fraudulent returns has been placed on a pedestal ahead of a real problem that hurts Michigan aesthetically, environmentally, and economically.

Without updating the bottle law, Michigan is missing a real opportunity to save on wasted energy from manufacturing PET plastic with virgin petroleum products and transport costs.

Let's not forget that retailers and grocers should be applauded for their efforts in making our bottle law the most successful in the country.

Surely they realize a small benefit as most customers spend deposit returns at the location where bottles are returned.

However, the "we can't" notion which has long since been disproved with the enormous success of the bottle law should not inhibit Michigan from once again taking a leadership role in recycling bottled beverages and reducing litter.

We all know Michigan CAN. In fact, it's rather simple. It's a one-word change in the law that everybody can understand. Plus, we already have the "infrastructure" in place.

Are there improvements that can be made to address the concerns of all stakeholders? Sure. So let's do what we can to protect our state from being robbed by bottle fraud criminals, but we must not lose sight of what really needs to be "fixed" with the bottle bill.

http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20081112/OPINION02/811120350/1087/OPINION02