Can and bottle returns are losing steam. What can Michigan do to increase recycling rates?

Michiganders have been taking their pop bottles and cans back to grocery stores for nearly half a century to collect a deposit.  But that’s changing.

A recent study shows fewer people are returning those bottles and cans—even though the containers are still being recycled.

Bill Wild is the president of the Midwest Independent Retailers Association (MIRA). He spoke with WDET’s Jerome Vaughn last week at the Mackinac Policy Conference.

Wild says his organization is working to take retailers out of the recycling chain.   He says stores don’t want the hassle of having to process bottles and cans.  And he says they have concerns about contaminants that used containers can bring into their retail space.

Wild says there are several models that Michigan could use to more efficiently recycle cans and bottles. That includes using curbside recycling, or transitioning to central drop-off centers.