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Michigan recycling rate hits high. Bottle law critics say it could go higher

Michigan recycling rate is up but still trails the national average. Photo credit: Jena Brooker/BridgeDetroit.

Editor note: This story was originally published by Bridge Michigan (bridgemi.com), a nonprofit and nonpartisan news organization. To get regular coverage from Bridge Michigan, sign up for a free Bridge Michigan newsletter .” 

by Janelle D. James, Bridge Michigan                                                                                                                                                                                              

Michigan recycling rate has climbed to 26%, topping previous records for the fifth straight year and putting the state within reach of its goal of 30% by 2029, officials announced Wednesday.

Still, Michigan recycling rate trails the national , and a group seeking to scrap the state bottle return law argues the rate could go higher if Michigan invested in universal curbside recycling instead.

In a Wednesday press conference marking Earth Day in Detroit, state officials touted the improved recycling rate, which has nearly doubled since 2019, when the state first started tracking the rate at 14%.

This year rate of 26% is up slightly from 25% last fall.

“Today, more people in Michigan have access to recycling than ever before and more materials are being turned into new products,” said , director of the Materials Management Division for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy.

“We know that when we teach people the right way to recycle, we recycle more,” she said.

The state estimates that from fiscal year 2024 to 2025, about 800,940 tons of material was recycled in Michigan, including more than 60,000 tons of glass, 577,000 tons of paper and 41,000 tons of plastics.

According to EGLE, those recyclables weighed about 10 Mackinac Bridges and would have filled the football stadiums of the Detroit Lions, University of Michigan and Michigan State University, plus the Detroit Zoo.

�����پ��DzԲ�������,�� of municipal solid waste is recycled each year, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency, which has an ambitious goal of a .

State officials say Michigan landfill fees – which Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has  — may be part of the reason the state recycles less than the country as a whole.

“We have a lot of landfills in Michigan, and disposal in Michigan is pretty inexpensive compared to other Great Lakes states,” Kecskemeti told Bridge Michigan.

“And so we have an economic situation where we have to make it easier and more economically viable to recycle than to throw things away.”

Bottle law debate

The Midwest Independent Retailers Association marked Earth Day by renewing calls for Michigan to scrap its bottle return law. Investing in universal, curbside recycling programs would be a more effective way to boost Michigan recycling rates, the group said.

Michigan 1976  incentivizes consumers to return eligible bottles and cans by promising them 10 cents for each return. It is one of .

“When it was implemented 50 years ago, the bottle bill was effective at lowering the amount of roadside litter,” Bill Wild, president and CEO of the retailers association, said in a statement. “But public attitudes about protecting our environment and recycling have improved. Michiganders want to recycle, but they want it to be as easy, streamlined, inexpensive, and safe as possible.”

�¾��ٳ��� in recent years, even some environmentalists who long championed the law have been looking at ways to reform it, although various advocacy groups have not agreed on any single plan to do so.

Still, state officials say the bottle law shows how successful recycling programs can be.

“Beverage containers are a small part of our overall waste streams, and if every material in Michigan were recycled at the same rate as deposit containers, our statewide recycling rate would be closer to 70%,” said Matt Fletcher, recycling market development specialist for EGLE.

In a bid to boost return rates by making the process easier, Michigan recently awarded a Norway-based company a $1 million grant to pilot a  at Meijer.

The machine allows users to dump plastic bottles and cans all at once, rather than feeding them individually.

Delaware cut its 5-cent deposit law in 2010 and replaced it with a “,” which mandates that the state provide each household with a recycling container and offer curbside collection.

Many Michigan cities operate their own curbside recycling programs, but state investment could go a long way, said Wild, with the independent retailers association.

“Ending the bottle deposit program and replacing it with improved curbside recycling programs will increase recycling rates, save money for consumers and get dirty bottles and cans out of our food stores,” Wild said. “It is time to recycle the bottle bill.”

by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.