A push is on to repeal bottle and can deposit return

The push is on to end bottle return law in Michigan

The Midwest Independent Retailers Association says it’s time for the state’s bottle deposit law to be a thing of the past.

FOX 2 - In the 1970s, the bottle return was created to keep litter off the freeways.

The backstory:

Fast-forward five decades later, the Midwest Independent Retailers Association says it’s time for the state’s bottle deposit law to be a thing of the past.

The organization makes it clear it’s time to recycle the bottle law. The organization says it makes groceries more expensive, drives up operating costs for stores and forces customers to bring dirty bottles to be brought inside stores for recycling.

The Midwest Independent Retailers Association believes there should be a push to promote more curbside recycling and they want Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s support.

"We’re asking Gov. Whitmer to consider starting the conversation about repealing the bottle bill in her final state of the state address this week," said Bill Wild, Midwest Independent Retailers Association CEO. "This conversation is going to require a governor to get behind it, and then because it was part of the state constitution it's going to require 2/3 of the legislature to put a new initiative on the ballot."

Kerrin O’ Brien is the Michigan Recycling Coalition executive director.

"If we rescind the bottle bill, then people will have to depend on curbside and drop-off recycling programs," "But the bottom line is that recycling opportunities for the bottles and cans covered by the bottle bill, we don’t have the infrastructure to collect those from people very easily across the state."

There is a lot of support for the current bottle and can law, however.

Drew Clayborn runs a nonprofit helping paralysis patients. During Covid after his Drew Crew Foundation had its golf scramble canceled, they pivoted and collected and sorted 40,000 cans and bottles in September, 2020.

"Six years ago, during Covid, our organization, our non-profit - everything was up in the air and everything was being canceled," he said. "We didn't know what we were going to do. Luckily, we had a bottle drive and returned closed to a million cans, and it kept us afloat for that year."

FOX 2 reached out to Governor Whitmer’s Office to get her reaction and we're still waiting to here back.

Whitmer will deliver her final State of the State on Wednesday.