(WXYZ) — A Michigan state senator from Kalamazoo is making headlines for a proposed expansion to Michigan's bottle deposit program, aimed at enhancing recycling efforts and reducing waste.
Currently, the program offers the 10-cent refund for specific beverage containers like cans and pop bottles.
Now, that lawmaker wants to add water bottles to the list, and I spoke to people about their thoughts on the proposed legislation.
"I think that is a small price to pay for a greater good," Sarah Sadovsky said.
"I'd like to see a greener planet and a lot of the times, it ends up in the trash without the 10-cent deposit," Kevin Riley said.
"It's more of an annoyance for store managers and owners," TJ Yalda, the manager at Wilson's Wine in Royal Oak, said.
"This is simply an expansion of the existing 10-cent deposit that people get back on their beverage containers," the bill's sponsor, Sen. Sean McCann, said.
McCann said the goal of the bill would be to increase recycling, and it would also make returning cans and bottles easier.
"Universal redemption. So if you buy a beverage at Meijer, you can take it back to Costco or Trader Joe's," McCann said.
The bill also maintains the current 10-cent bottle deposit value and expands the deposit to other beverage containers of one gallon or less.
If the proposal does pass, it will be on the ballot and up to voters to decide.
"Bottle returns are kind of a pain in the rear just because we have to organize everything by distributor," Yalda said. "It takes up a bunch of space up in the back as well that we can use for inventory. At the end of the day, it's not a money-maker for us so it is more of an annoyance. I get the idea of bottle returns to clean up the environment and make everything cleaner."
Sadovsky was grabbing some drinks and said she is for the proposal.
"I feel like it would be very beneficial I know for me. I drink a lot of bottled water and it would be nice to get some money back for the use that I have," she said.
"I'd be for it, you know. It's an incentive for recycling," Riley
"At the end of the day if you're going to get your money back for it, why not?" Mike Wilczynski said.
