“You’re really losing out, so it becomes very hard to make money out of it,” said Shayna Barry, Schupan’s director of governmental affairs & strategic partnerships. Officials with Schupan Recycling, Michigan’s largest independent beverage container recycler, said its machines are built to handle a high volume of cans and bottles, but with fewer recyclable goods it becomes more difficult to efficiently run the business. “I’d really like to put my faith in Michigan people first,” Smith said. It may be time for an increase, Smith said, although he called that “sort of a last resort.” The 15.7% drop in redemption rates from 2019 to 2020 is equivalent to 600 million cans not returned, said Michigan Environmental Council President and CEO Conan Smith.Įnvironmental proponents of the 45-year-old bottle law say 10 cents may no longer be enough to encourage people to make returns. And it’s fueled a renewed debate about whether the state’s once-revered bottle bill is due for an update. That’s worrying environmentalists and businesses, including recycling companies that rely on a steady stream of aluminum and glass. Michigan’s return rate on bottles and cans, which stood at nearly 89% before the pandemic, has plummeted below 76%. LANSING – A temporary ban on returning bottles and cans for deposits early in the pandemic may have caused long-lasting changes to the recycling habits of Michigan residents. Spartan Newsroom - News and information from student journalists at the Michigan State University School of JournalismĪsheley ZhouAluminum cans and bottles are pressed into bricks of recyclable material, waiting to be shipped and formed into new beverage containers. ![]() About the Michigan State University School of Journalism.MSU School of Journalism Code of Ethics.MSU journalism COVID-related reporting guidelines.Michigan Chile Investigative Journalism Program.
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