Michigan Lawmakers Move to Add Bottle Deposits on Non-Carbonated Beverages
Legislation introduced in Michigan would make updates to the state’s 41-year-old beverage container deposit law (“bottle bill”) by placing a new 10¢ deposit on non-carbonated beverages, including water, sports and energy drinks, juices, ready-to-drink iced tea and coffee, wine and liquor, and mixed drinks.* With the extensive growth of these product markets, they now comprise about 50% of all beverages consumed in Michigan.
“Adding non-carbonated beverage containers – including single-use plastic water bottles – into the container deposit law would reduce consumer confusion about which beverages are covered by the law, and would provide Michiganders with an additional reason to return their bottles and cans given the new deposit for increasingly popular products,” said Susan Collins, president of the Container Recycling Institute (CRI), a nonprofit recycling industry authority.
Michigan has long led the nation in recycling carbonated beverage containers due to its dime deposit (compared to a nickel in most other deposit states), with a 2018 redemption rate of 89%. In contrast, the state’s recycling rate for (currently non-deposit) non-carbonated beverage containers stands at just 20%.