 |
|
Michigan...
Ranks 28th for recycling among the 50
states.
Recycles only 20% of
its trash; well below the 30% average of other great
lakes states.
Current "Bottle Law" containers make up
only 3.1% of municipal solid waste.
Expanding the current bottle law will
only increase recycling by .07%.
|
 |
|
Bottle Bill Expansion
[APRIL 2006]
Study Shows Comprehensive Recycling Plan Would
Create Jobs Improve Environment. The
Michigan Recycling Partnership (MRP) -- of which
Michigan Grocers Association is the founding member
-- issued a
press release outlining the findings of an
economic report that shows improved recycling in
Michigan would help create thousands of jobs.
According to a
2006 study conducted by Public Sector Consultants,
bringing Michigan's recycling rate up to that of its
Great Lakes neighbor states would produce between
6,810 and 12,986 jobs in the recycling and reuse
industry.
Michigan's
recycling rate of 20 percent is significantly lower
than the other Great Lakes states' average of 30
percent, and is falling while other states are
gaining.
MRP is advocating a common sense,
cost-effective solution to address Michigan's woeful record on
recycling and realize the significant economic gains of a
comprehensive statewide program. The proposal -- known as
"Recycling Makes Cents" or the "Penny Plan" -- would add a
one-cent recycling fee to retail transactions of $2 or more,
thereby generating significant revenue to provide comprehensive
curbside and drop off recycling options to more Michigan
residents.
Visit the
Michigan Recycling Partnership website to learn more about
recycling in Michigan and the
Recycling Makes Cents proposal.
[SEPTEMBER 2005]
Penny Plan Introduced to Fund Recycling.
In September, Rep. Goeff Hansen (R-Hart) introduced
legislation to encourage, educate and operate
recycling efforts in Michigan.
Known as the "penny
plan,"
House Bill 5163 calls for consumers to pitch in
one cent for most retail transactions made of more
than $2. The contributions would be shared 50
percent to recycling programs in local communities,
40 percent to grants to new or existing programs and
10 percent to litter abatement and education
efforts.
“Michigan has the lowest
recycling rate in the Midwest and one of the lowest
in the U.S.,” said Hansen. “This plan will help
establish and maintain recycling programs that will
allow Michigan residents to take the lead in a
conscientious use of resources and living an
environmentally friendly lifestyle.
“Being in the grocery business for so many years, I
have seen the multitude of containers just
associated with food and we still need to address
the disposal issue. This legislation is very fluid
and subject to revision but our goal is to have a
strong recycling program in Michigan.”
Along with the penny plan legislation, Hansen also
will introduce a resolution calling for the plan to
go before voters for a constitutional amendment
which would not be subject to future changes.
The state's major food businesses favor the penny
plan over expanding Michigan's Bottle Deposit Law.
"Expanding the Bottle Deposit Law is not only less
effective than funding a comprehensive recycling
program, but also more costly for consumers and
retailers," says Michigan Grocers Association
President Linda Gobler.
Under the plan,
services, utilities, business-to-business sales and
major purchases such as homes and vehicles would be
exempt, as would small businesses with less than
2,000 transactions a month. The collection would
never be greater than a penny, regardless of how
many items were included in the transaction.
Based on calculations of credit card transactions in
the state, an estimated $42 million would be
generated for recycling from an average collection
of about $10 an individual annually.
[DECEMBER 2004]
Governor's Veto Major Setback to Michigan Recycling
Efforts. Governor Granholm dealt a
significant blow to recycling in Michigan by vetoing
legislation to create a council charged with
reviewing the reasons behind Michigan's appalling
recycling rate and suggesting options for reversing
the current diminishing trend. The vetoed
bills,
SB 790 and
854, were the first initiatives recommended by
the Michigan Beverage Container & Recycling Task
Force - the group of senators who studied recycling
for 10 months in 2003.
[AUGUST 2004]
A package of
recycling bills (SB
532,
533,
790,
853,
854,
855,
857,
858,
860, and
861) recently passed the Senate and address such
issues as new penalties for littering, creating
hotlines to report littering and dumping,
establishing a recycling advisory council and
creating a statewide recycling coordinator.
These bills were referred to the House Committee on
Land Use and Environment.
The Senate did not act on SB
721 which would have established a tipping fee at
state landfills to help pay for recycling programs
or SB
856 that called for a comprehensive study of the
litter problems in the state.
[OCTOBER 2003]
Michigan
Recycling Task Force Issues 64-page Final Report.
Click Here to download.
[AUGUST 2003]
MGA
President Linda Gobler notifies members of the Senate Bottle
Bill Expansion Task Force of the bioterrorism risk the state's
bottle return system creates.
more info.
[JULY 2003]
Deposit Laws Ignore Most Landfill and Roadside Waste
A survey released by the Michigan Recycling
Partnership (MRP) found that beverage containers are
only a small part of roadside litter.
Click Here
to download an article as it appeared in the July
2003 Michigan Food News.
(PDF file - requires
Acrobat Reader)
[JANUARY
2003]
Michigan
Beverage Container and Recycling Task Force:
In January,
2003, Senate Republican Leader Ken Sikkema (R-Wyoming) began the
new legislative session with the announcement of the formation
of the Michigan Beverage Container and Recycling Task Force.
The mission of the task force is:
To review
the state's current recycling programs and to evaluate the
impact of Michigan's Beverage Container Law on statewide
recycling along with its effects on the consumer, business and
the environment. The task force will issue a report on the
possible ways to improve or expand Michigan's Beverage Container
Law if needed and/or consider new approaches to encourage
recycling.
Chaired by
Senator Cameron Brown (R-Sturgis), nine public
hearings were scheduled throughout the state with the goal
of gleaning as much information as possible from Michigan
citizens. The Task Force included Senators Patty Birkholz,
Mike Bishop, Alan Cropsey, Jud Gilbert and Michelle McManus.
The Task Force issued it's 64-page Final Report
in October, 2003.
A Message
from MGA president, Linda Gobler:
The Michigan Grocers Association (MGA) has
requested that our members call or send letters
(see sample excerpts) to their
legislators to help them understand how the bottle deposit law
works from a retailer's perspective. We have been working
with our members to prepare testimony, have arranged store
tours, provided photos of back rooms and bottle storage areas
and helped calculate the costs of providing this service to the
consuming public.
At recent public
hearings, testimony has been given on the importance the retail
community places on sanitation and the emphasis on food safety.
As is so often the case, people are not aware of what happens
after they return their cans and bottles to the retailer.
Many retailers have spoken about the "foreign matter" that is
returned with containers: mice, cockroaches, bees, bugs, fecal
matter, urine, gasoline and other, often unidentifiable,
material. Pest management specialists agree that sticky
bottles and cans require the use of increased pesticides, which
make it more difficult for stores to maintain an environment
that is safe for food processing and handling. These
concerns affect employees and customers alike.
Expanding the
current "Bottle Law" to include all carbonated and
non-carbonated beverages packaged in metal, plastic or glass
containers of one gallon or less in size is not the answer to
dealing with Michigan's lagging recycling efforts.
The most recent statistics indicate that Michigan
ranks 28th for recycling among the 50 states. Michigan
recycles only 20% of its trash; the lowest recycling rate and
well below the 26% average of other great lakes states.
The national average is more than 30%. Under the current
bottle law, 95% of carbonated drink containers are recycled.
However, these containers make up only 3.1% of municipal solid
waste. Expanding the current bottle law will only increase
recycling by .07%. Source: Michigan Recycling Partnership.
Over the past
few years, many retailers have installed reverse vending
machines capable of reading bar code information on bottles and
cans and tracking returns. Many of our small store
operators do not have the financial means to purchase one of
these machines which cost retailers anywhere from $14,000 to
$20,000 each. Containers that are included in bottle bill
expansion proposals do not share a uniform design and are made
with different types of materials (not all plastics are the
same). Consequently, not all containers can be processed
through these machines and expansion would force even more
retailers to return to hand-sorting bottles and cans by size and
material composition.
Proponents of
expanding the bottle deposit law have testified about how "good
the system works right now," and how clean Michigan's roadsides
have become. In 1976, the bottle law was passed as a litter
control measure. However, the senate committee is
addressing recycling, not litter. We need to turn our
attention to the bigger issue of developing a comprehensive
recycling plan for the state.
In 1989, at the
direction of the Michigan Grocers Association board of
directors, the Michigan Recycling Partnership (MRP) was formed
as a separate organization to address expansion efforts and
began the discussion on how to deal with solid waste disposal in
Michigan. Today, MRP is a coalition of businesses,
organizations and individuals concerned about the lack of a
comprehensive recycling policy in our state. The Michigan
Grocers Association continues to work together with MRP to
educate the legislature and consumers about the food safety
risks associated with bringing garbage back to the grocery store
and to explore solutions to Michigan's growing solid waste
problem.
The Michigan
Grocers Association supports
comprehensive recycling programs and the removal of returnable
containers from the sanitary environment required of the grocery
store.
  |
