Excerpts from Michigan Grocers Association members’ letters
to the legislature about proposed expansion of Michigan's bottle law

I am writing to strongly urge you to vote NO on the proposed expansion of the bottle bill.  The present law is extremely costly to the grocery industry in both labor and facilities.  The law has also caused a huge sanitation problem.  Expanding it under its present format would turn grocery stores into garbage dumps.   

Our profit margin has been negative for the past several years.  Expansion of the bottle bill could be the death nail for many small grocers.  Back To Top

We are a small, family-owned business that has been in operation since 1934, operating in several cities.  We are writing to inform you of our opposition to the expansion of the current law.  Following are some of the reasons for not expanding the law:

·      First and foremost, is the health and sanitation risk posed by the law.  Our employees are already forced to deal with human waste, vermin and pests that are in or on the bottles that we deal with on a daily basis.  It simply does not make sense to have these unsanitary items returned to an environment where fresh food products are offered for sale to the general public.

·      Mandating us to handle more and more of these unsanitary items flies in the face of the policies enforced by the Food and Dairy Division of the Dept of Agriculture.  It you want to expand the redemption law, you may want to consider getting the state into the recycling business by virtue of setting up redemption centers throughout the state.

·      We simply do not have the space to handle additional containers in our stores.  Most of our beer and pop containers are currently picked up by vendors who sell us these items.  These vendors are in our stores several times a week to pick up the empties, enabling us to limit the amount of storage space we need for the empties.  Juice and water products are not delivered to us by virtue of peddle trucks.  They are purchased from our warehouse, along with our other grocery items.  There is no system set up to return these bottles to the warehouse, which is located ‘in another state.’

We have a large sum of money invested in our reverse vending machines.  The machines cannot handle different sized containers, or containers made out of different materials.  Again, forcing us to replace these machines not only will put us at a greater competitive disadvantage with those businesses that do not have to deal with this issue. (Comments from a retailer on the border of Michigan.)  Back To Top

Is the bottle deposit law about bottles and cans or about recycling?  In 1976 (when Michigan voters approved the Beverage Container law) most of us had not ever considered recycling.  Today, recycling is part of being a responsible member of society, but Michigan lags well behind most other states in recycling efforts.  Obviously, the bottle law does not promote recycling.  In fact, it removes one of the most valuable components of recycling programs across the nation, aluminum cans.

In 1976, who worried about the safety of our food supply?  Today, returned containers are a major source of filth entering our food stores.  Dirt, insects, trash, used needles...these are just some of the things being returned to the food store in containers…there must be a better way.  Expanding the current bottle law doesn’t address any of these issues.  In most cases, it only adds to them.  Let’s encourage our lawmakers and our neighbors to find a better way.  A way that is beneficial to the environment, the consumer, the food store and the recycling industry.  Back To Top

Ouch!  The decision to expand the bottle bill will hurt every citizen and every retail business in Michigan.  The current system, which, if expanded, will create a bottleneck effect in the distribution of food and related products to supermarkets and alternative retail formats.  Ask anyone in the logistics business why and they will quickly tell you this would be a nightmare. 

Currently, wholesalers add close to a half percent in profit though backhauls.  This revenue offsets other operational costs.  If wholesale distributors are forced to discontinue backhaul, then the wholesaler, retailer and the consumer are gong to pay for the elimination of this efficient use of the wholesaler’s fleet.  Not only does it completely eliminate a source of revenue, but it will also increase labor in the receiving, storage, administrative and then loading and shipping the returns out.  There is no profit in this product so every bit of the handling will be a dead expense.

The cause and object of the bottle bill is excellent, we need to protect the land.  However, the process and means at which the state is currently handling bottles, and is considering expanding, is totally out of date.  Observe how city waste management recycles along with the cost, and then compare it to recycling through the supermarkets and alternative retail formats and you will clearly see the bottles are handled far less times, the containment of filth/germs is far superior and more isolated, and your retail food prices will not soar.  This is a serious issue and must be fully studied to know the full impact.  Back To Top

You would not believe the nauseating stuff that come back, and on, “EMPTY” containers.  Urine, dirty diapers, vomit, fish guts, used condoms, tobacco chew, cigarette butts, putrid beer, pop and rancid food residues, dirt and sand...just to name a few.  In addition, returns are usually accompanied by all sorts of living and dead creatures including mice, flies, bees, wasps, ants, earwigs, spiders, centipedes, slugs and roaches.  What about the health threat to employees who must handle these things?

You are not doubt aware that all returns must be counted, sorted and stored.  This is no simple task.  It is especially acute in smaller stores where every container must be individually sorted BY HAND.  This kind of work is frequently performed by young people who tend to ignore sanitary procedures, no matter how many times you repeat it to them.  I invite you, your children and any of your strong-stomached colleagues to visit my store some hot summer day and enjoy the experience with us.  Requiring people to return this stuff back to the place where food is sold is insane.  Back To Top

The grocery industry has done a great job of hiding the sanitation problems from its customers and the general public.  We do not want our customers to be subjected to the sight of poor sanitation while upholding the highest standards throughout the rest of ours stores.  We keep the mess out of sight so anyone outside the business thinks that “all is great”, and it is not.

Michigan has one of the best food safety programs in the U.S., and I am proud to be part of this high standard.  But I am appalled that we encourage antiquated “recycling” efforts to allow unsanitary trash to enter our food distribution system.  You have heard the horror stories about things returned in bottles.  Have you ever seen an innocent lime wedge dropped into a bottle of beer and then returned a month later, after sitting in the garage in 90-degree heat?  It is a disturbing piece of rotted, moldy garbage returned for credit in the name of recycling.  Back To Top

I have been a supporter of the bottle law but cannot figure out why our state has them carried into stores where sanitation is of the utmost importance.  I have always wondered why we do not have centralized recycling centers for our returns?  Back To Top