It’s Time to Recycle the Bottle Bill!
Let’s replace the 50-year-old Bottle Bill with modern curbside recycling
Since 1976, Michigan’s Bottle Bill has helped reduce litter and promote recycling. But 50 years later, we’re operating in a much different environment.
The bottle deposit system has outlived its original purpose and now places unnecessary strain on consumers and retailers alike.
Independent grocers and convenience stores are not recycling centers, yet they must dedicate valuable floor space, labor, and resources to managing this out-of-date system and its associated costs, which ultimately impacts customers.
But over the last 50 years, recycling has evolved with widespread, modern curbside programs that offer more convenient options for busy families. The data shows that convenience is what they are looking for. Changing consumer attitudes toward the Bottle Bill have resulted in a massive drop in participation, with an approximately 30% drop in just a few years.
While Michigan should remain committed to recycling, the Bottle Bill system must be replaced and modernized to fit the current needs of consumers and retailers, five decades after the program was created.
Let’s take the trash out of grocery stores. Dirty, unhealthy cans and bottles should be removed from the same buildings as our fresh food and instead be deposited into curbside programs or at drop off centers.
This is why MIRA supports legislative action to Recycle the Bottle Bill and modernize Michigan’s recycling system in a way that helps consumers, retailers and the environment.
To get involved, contact Jerry Griffin, V.P. of government affairs, at [email protected].
Read media coverage of MIRA’s Recycle the Bottle Bill initiative below.