Referendum to expand Michigan’s bottle deposit law to include water bottles, universal redemption would be included on the 2026 general election ballot
LANSING, Mich. (Nov. 13, 2024) – Today, Sen. Sean McCann (D-Kalamazoo) introduced an unprecedented proposal to put the question of expanding Michigan’s bottle deposit law on the 2026 general election ballot.
In 1976, Michigan citizens initiated what’s now known as Michigan’s “Bottle Bill” to promote recycling and prevent the littering of containers for soft drinks, soda water, carbonated water, and other eligible cans and bottles. Since its implementation nearly 50 years ago, it has been a staple of Michigan public policy and proven to be highly effective at reducing litter and expanding recycling throughout the state.
“Michigan’s ‘Bottle Bill’ has been one of the most successful public policy proposals ever enacted in our state and is our most widely used and accepted state conservation program,” Sen. McCann said. “This unique proposal takes the most popular ideas to modernize our bottle deposit law and places the question before the voters. Our current law was initiated by the voters, and it feels fitting to give them the opportunity to transform recycling yet again in Michigan. Things like universal redemption and expansion to other containers like water bottles are popular and would continue to build upon this conservation staple in our state.”
Senate Bill 1112 would, upon passage, place the question of potential expansion of Michigan’s bottle deposit law on the 2026 general election ballot. The provisions of the expansion include several popular ideas to increase recycling, make returning eligible containers easier and direct funds to supporting a healthy environment in Michigan. These provisions include:
- Universal Redemption — allows beverage containers to be returned anywhere, wherein any dealer that sells any container subject to a deposit must accept any container for redemption regardless of whether the dealer sells that specific product or not.
- Expansion of Deposit to Other Beverage Containers — expands the deposit to include all beverage containers one gallon or less, including water bottles, and provides exemptions for milk, infant formulas, and fruit and vegetable juices in containers one half-gallon or greater, and freezable containers.
- Maintaining Current Bottle Deposit Value — maintains the current $0.10 deposit for all containers this proposal would be expanded to.
- Data Transparency — makes data regarding the performance of the program public, including the rate of return, types of containers in which a deposit was initiated by county, types of containers for which a deposit was redeemed by county, and the value, contributions, and expenditures of the various funds this act would support.
“Michigan’s Bottle Bill has helped protect our environment for decades, thanks in large part to distributors who invest $60 million each year to recycle nearly two billion containers,” said Spencer Nevins, President of the Michigan Beer & Wine Wholesalers Association. “Sen. McCann’s legislation is a vital step to ensure the program remains sustainable by providing necessary investment in the Bottle Bill. We’re proud to support this effort to build a stronger, more efficient, and consumer-friendly Bottle Bill system, reinforcing Michigan’s status as a leader in environmental stewardship.”
Connected to the proposed expansion is Senate Bill 1113, an allocation of $60 million from Corporate Income Tax revenue to fund implementation and operations of the Bottle Bill. This funding would only go into effect if voters were to adopt the proposed expansion in the 2026 general election. The distribution of these funds would create the Beverage Container Handling Fund, which would be allocated in the following way:
- 85% – Resource Recovery Fund
- System improvement grants
- New equipment and technology costs to expand capacity
- Operations and equipment costs for pilot programs
- Grant to nonprofit organizations and institutions of higher learning to conduct research related to the Bottle Bill
- Consumer education of the Bottle Bill
- System improvement grants
- 6% – Bottle Bill Enforcement Fund (Attorney General & MI State Police)
- 6% – Michigan Dept. of Environment, Great Lakes & Energy (EGLE) for marketing participation
- 1.5% – EGLE staffing and programs
- 1.5% – Michigan Dept. of Licensing & Regulator Affairs for staffing and programs
Under this legislation, the Bottle Deposit Fund, commonly referred to as unclaimed deposits or “escheats” in the Bottle Bill, would be restructured to include funding for compliance reimbursement for the state manufacturers, distributors and dealer partners, and continue to fund Michigan’s Cleanup and Redevelopment Trust Fund.
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