Sick Of Looking At Your Returnables? State Reopens All Facilities

It's like a bad horror movie. Bottles and cans, stacked up, slowly filling a bin, a box, a room, before taking over....But with more folks staying at home, more drinking at home, then this is what happens with all the used bottles and cans.

The State of Michigan this afternoon ordered all grocery stores, supermarkets, convenience stores, gas stations "and other retailers with bottle and can return facilities" to open their return facilities and resume the collecting those returnables and, give you your deposit back. The key word here is "all". For most of us, this isn't going to be news, as Phase 1 of this re-opening began June 15th, and Phase 2 started last week. Now it's everybody in Michigan involved with this business.

Pretty much what this means is if the places you take your bottles and cans weren't open before, they should be now. It doesn't matter if it's an automated facility or one that has people staffing it, the state says they have to reopen. Part of this because rules had to be issued again following some court rulings.

Some of this you already know, but it's never bad to have a refresher course.

• The return places can limit the number of beverage containers that may be returned by a single individual per day to a deposit refund amount of $25.
• The can set special or limited hours for their return facilities.
• The can limit the number vending machines you can use.
• And finally, they can and should periodically close to clean and disinfect their location.

So go gather your cans and bottles. But that deposit money is yours, so go get it.  Not to mention the space you're reclaiming.