The bottles and cans that have been piling up in your garage over the last two months will soon be able to be returned.
The Michigan Treasury issued a notice on Monday calling for phase one of the reopening of return facilities to begin on June 15.
Not every retailer with return facilities will open during phase one, only those with bottle return facilities located at the front of the store or housed in a separate area and serviced exclusively by reverse vending machines.
Retailers re-opening their bottle return facilities must ensure those facilities comply with all state-mandated safety protocols and restrictions.
In addition, retailers may take any or all of the following steps:
Limit the number of beverage containers that may be returned by a single individual per day to a deposit refund amount of $25, pursuant to MCL 445.572(10).
Establish special or limited hours of operation for bottle return facilities.
Limit the number of available and operating reverse vending machines.
Periodically close bottle deposit facilities as needed for cleaning and supply management.
Implement such other procedures or restrictions as each retailer may determine are necessary or advisable to promote safety and/or efficiency.
During this initial phase, retailers must limit the volume of weekly returned beverage containers to no more than 140% of their average weekly collection volume for the period April and May 2019.
The collection of returnable beverage containers was temporarily suspended in an executive order issued by Governor Whitmer on March 23.
Ron Leix is a spokesman for the Michigan Department of Treasury. He said people should remain patient.
“The state treasury department doesn't have the authority within state law to suspend the deposit so the deposit is still there,” Leix said. “The can still has the ten cents on it. So please be patient to take your cans, bottles and other returnable back.”
Leix said that people can choose to curbside recycle their returnables. If they choose to do so, they will not receive their deposit back, but 75 percent of the funds will go into the state’s cleanup and redevelopment trust fund.
Treasury will issue further guidance regarding additional phases of the reestablishment of the bottle deposit program in the near future.