Michigan grocers pushing to get rid of state's ten cent can and bottle deposit

[TheFugitive]

Apparently grocers in the state of Michigan are making a push to repeal the state's longstanding ten cent deposit on most beverage containers. 

https://wfnt.com/ixp/84/p/michigan-grocery-store-bottle-returns/

The state's bottle deposit law was made famous in a two-part Seinfeld episode (and before you get any ideas, yes it is illegal to truck cans and bottles over the state line and try to collect deposit money that was never paid in the first place).  The law was already in effect when I moved to Michigan in the 1980's, and as an outsider I observed that it did cut down noticeably on the amount of litter I saw along sidewalks and in parks compared to other places I'd been.

Quite understandably grocers have never been fans of the cost or the logistical challenges of collecting and storing all of those containers and paying back the deposits.  They are instead pitching a beefed-up curbside recycling program. And their case is being bolstered by data showing that fewer and fewer Michiganders are even bothering to bring their can back and collect their dime as redemption rates have plunged to below 70%.

If nothing else the law seems to provide incentive for kids or low-income people to patrol the streets and parks picking-up empty cans and bottles.  If it is repealed I can't help but think that Michigan's public spaces will become noticeably more trashy.

One of the greatest screw-ups that Ames made when I was working for them was to ship an entire pallet of aluminum can crushers to my store in Imlay City, Michigan.  Apparently the buying staff in Rocky Hill did not realize that nobody crushed their cans in the Wolverine State since they had to go back to the store, so they shipped these to all of their Michigan locations.  I brought this to their attention and they recalled them and reallocated them to other states.