Auchtoon!

Back in 2016, part of then candidate Donald Trump’s platform (remember back to the quaint days when the Republican Party actually had platforms?) was a plank that for every new federal regulation two would be removed.

I thought, well, okay. I understand the feeling that there are too many rules and regulations — or more specifically, ones that are no longer needed or simply not relevant. But to arbitrarily remove two to make way for a new one? That seemed extremely shortsighted. (Remember back to the quaint days when “shortsighted” was the way you’d describe something you thought was dangerously stupid?)

But back to common ground: Michigan has had a bottle returns law now for nearly 50 years. It is fair to ask whether it is still a good idea to require a 10 cent deposit on soft drink and malt beverage containers. More so recently because the law has apparently been less effective. Recycling rates hit a high of 89% in 2019 but dropped during the complete system shutdown of the pandemic, falling to 75.6% in 2022.

This could be because retailers have been loath to return to making bottle returns as convenient as they were before the pandemic. It could also be because the public at large has been less motivated to take on a chore that pays back much less in buying power than it once did.

But before wiping the law off the books, it is also important to consider the benefits. Three out of four bottles/cans are returned for recycling in Michigan while only one out of four are in states without deposit laws. Is there an alternative that can guarantee the same or less landfill waste and litter?