PODCAST:
May 28, 2026 ~ Bill Wild outlines his push to overhaul Michigan’s recycling infrastructure, why changes are needed now, and what it would take to make the system more effective.
LANSING ~ Michigan’s bottle return law has been around for five decades now, which returns 10 cents to consumers for each can and bottle returned. But some retail experts are calling for the law to be changed.
“Bottles and cans were starting to accumulate across the state, along the freeways and highways,” Bill Wild, CEO of the Midwest Independent Retail Association, told WJR. “I think the Bottle Bill did a really good job of cleaning that up, but behaviors change. There are fines now to do that. There are groups that help to clean up the highways now, and 50 years later, we’re still taking those bottles and cans back to the grocery stores where we’re trying to sell fresh food, cut fresh meats, and deliver safe consumable goods. It just doesn’t make a whole lot of sense 50 years later that we’re still bringing that stuff back into the grocery stores.“
