Michigan Left $119 Million in Bottle Deposits Unclaimed

My first job was working the bottle return counter at Bill's IGA in uptown Brooklyn, Michigan. That was before the machines took over and people would bring bags, boxes, crates, and truckloads of wet, sticky cans and bottles, and somebody would count them and give you a dime apiece. That somebody was me.

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Good thing I didn't make a career out of it. My replacement has a conveyor belt, no retirement plan, and a remarkable ability to reject a can six times before accepting it on the seventh.

Michigan's Bottle Return Numbers Are Getting Ugly

A cardboard box filled with cans that Michigander's pay a 10 cent deposit on, along with other unreturnable garbage.

According to the Michigan Department of Treasury, Michigan's bottle deposit refund rate fell to 69.4% in 2025, leaving $119.2 million in unrefunded deposits. That's the lowest return rate in decades. For instance, in 1990, my prime bottle return days, the rate was 98.2%.

That's money we paid upfront. Getting it back requires another trip, a bag of empties, and occasionally a negotiation with a machine that seems personally offended by Diet Coke.

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The numbers don't tell us why every deposit went unclaimed. But anyone who has hauled a leaking bag of cans into a store can supply a couple of theories.

Michigan Grocery Stores Are Calling For Changes

ClickOnDetroit reports that independent grocers are pushing to move bottle returns out of grocery stores, citing labor costs, lost space, and health and safety concerns.

Having worked that job, I understand. Bottles filled with tobacco spit, cans half full of old pop and beer, and the bugs... So. Many. Bugs.

Can Michigan Make Bottle Returns Less Annoying?

A closeup of a can that offers a 10 cent refund on your deposit when returned in Michigan.

I like the incentive to return cans and bottles. I also like leaving the grocery store without sticky fingers and a deposit refund that's worth less than the snack I bought while waiting in line.

Would a higher deposit work? Maybe. Would dedicated return centers help, or would another stop across town make people more likely to keep throwing refundable cans in the trash?

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Regardless, keep the incentive and improve the experience, and then maybe the return percentage will rise. And give the machines some training. I've been out of the bottle return business since 1990, but I still know a can when I see one.