A new bill in the Michigan House would expand the bottles with ten cent returns on them to include non-carbonated drinks.
Bill sponsors say it is important to include juice drinks and water bottles on the list of things that receive the state deposit.
State Democratic Representative Jon Hoadley is the bill sponsor. He said the proposal was recycled from last year.
“This year we’re hoping we’re going to reduce legislative delay and get this bill a hearing. There are a lot of special interest groups who don’t want us to expand recycling in the state. They make money by having more people with more trash and they don’t want to disrupt their current business models.”
Hoadley said the state needs to incentivize more bottle returns.
“We’re not taking care of our state for our children and grandchildren. We’re also losing out on job opportunities that have been coming from increased recycling because this is where new innovation is happening and this is where people are hiring.”
Hoadley said as the kinds of bottles Michiganders use change, the state needs to expand bottle return laws to include them.