The amount of unredeemed deposits on bottles and cans is huge this year, with millions of dollars worth of eligible deposit returns sitting in basements, garages, and likely landfills. What to do with the unclaimed money has prompted action that has been called both “commonsense” and “misguided”, depending on who is talking.
The Michigan House passed house bills 4443 and 4444 that would put more money from unclaimed bottle returns into updates for equipment that processes the returns. The bill would allocate more money for the bottling industry and less for the Cleanup and Redevelopment Trust Fund which currently gets 75% of the money.
Spencer Nevins of the Michigan Beer and Wine Wholesalers praised the legislation, saying, “Our members have spent millions of dollars to purchase large, expensive equipment — which takes up valuable warehouse space — to process returnables without seeing a dime from the state.”
Environmentalists are less impressed. Nick Occhipinti, government affairs director for the Michigan League of Conservation Voters, argued that more money is needed to “fight contamination in our drinking water, rivers, streams, lakes, and land” and he urged lawmakers to “oppose this misguided legislation.”
Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland
