Michigan bottle return rate drops to 69.4%, lowest in decades, as retailers push to remove cans and bottles from grocery stores

Michigan's bottle deposit return rate fell to 69.4% in 2025, the lowest level in decades, according to Michigan Department of Treasury data. Independent grocers are pressing lawmakers to remove bottle and can handling from grocery stores.

The Midwest Independent Retailers Association, which represents more than 1,000 Michigan stores, surveyed its members about the state's 50-year-old deposit system. More than 90% of respondents said bottles and cans should be removed from grocery stores, and more than 97% cited health and safety concerns, according to MIRA CEO Bill Wild.

"Overwhelmingly, they all agreed that it's time to get this bottle bill or these bottles and cans out of the grocery stores," Wild said.

Retailers are required to accept eligible containers, sort them, store them and return them to distributors. At independent stores without automated machines, employees handle the process by hand.

James Garrison, a manager at Honey Bee Market, said the work can take at least 30 minutes each night, on top of interruptions during the day when customers bring back containers.

"And it's a dirty job," Garrison said. "It's a job that frankly, even the employees don't want to do because people don't bring bottles in nice and clean."

Garrison said stores receive no direct financial benefit from the process and must use labor and retail space for sorting and storage.

"It's just a wash back and forth," he said. "But it's time-consuming."

The deposit program began in 1976 to reduce litter. Michigan Department of Treasury data shows the return rate reached 98.2% in 1990 and stayed above 90% for much of the following decades before falling during and after the pandemic.

In 2024, the return rate was 70.4%, with $116.4 million in deposits not refunded. In 2023, it was 73%, with $105.3 million unclaimed.

In 2025, Michigan collected $389.7 million in bottle deposits and refunded $270.4 million, leaving $119.2 million in deposits not returned to consumers.

The Treasury Department said the state distributed $29.6 million to retailers, equal to 25% of the amount owed by under-redemptions after specified adjustments.

The department said its figures do not adjust for containers purchased outside Michigan and returned illegally for a deposit, or for retailers that buy beverages out of state while avoiding the deposit.

Shoppers still return containers for the 10-cent deposit.

Reginald Lewis of Detroit said he recycles two or three times a week and recently brought containers to a return machine. He estimated one trip can bring him close to $20.

"It's important for me to get the money back," Lewis said.

Marty Cardamone of Royal Oak said he prefers returning containers at the store because he can do it while shopping.

Retailers plan to use the survey results to ask state officials to rework how returns are handled. Lawmakers have not said whether they will take up changes to the bottle bill during the current session.