LANSING (WKZO AM/FM) — Once again the popular dime bottle deposit is being challenged in Lansing but odds are good it will be sticking around.
State Representative Joe Bellino has proposed bills that would eliminate the deposit law at the end of 2022. He says its hurting overall recycling efforts.
The state should strive to go to a single source system. Bellino argues with just 15% of our waste, being recycled, Michigan is falling behind.
Kalamazoo Democrat John Hoadley says they need to expand the bottle law to include water bottles and other containers, not get rid of it. It was the result of a voter initiative and remains popular because it has worked spectacularly.
He says if Bellino wants to convince his Republican colleagues to expand single stream recycling that can work in concert with the bottle deposit law, he would be right behind them.
In fact he has proposals for all kinds of recycling programs that could boost recycling in Michigan if State Government got behind them. But that hasn’t happened while Republicans have been in charge.
Grocery stores, which are mandated to take returns, dislike the bottle deposit law because they never signed up to be recycling centers too and it’s costly, messy and takes up space.
They have been pressuring the legislature to get rid of the deposit law for years.
Because it was initiated through a petition drive, they would need a 3/4th’s majority to alter or eliminate it.
