Nonreturnable containers; prohibitions; means for return and refund; regional redemption centers; acceptance of containers and payment of refunds; indicating refund value and name of state on container; exception; metal containers with detachable parts prohibited; deposit previously refunded; refund upon reuse; maximum daily refund; agreement on deposit; refund by manufacturer.
MCL 445.572
in effect445.572. Nonreturnable containers; prohibitions; means for return and refund; regional redemption centers; acceptance of containers and payment of refunds; indicating refund value and name of state on container; exception; metal containers with detachable parts prohibited; deposit previously refunded; refund upon reuse; maximum daily refund; agreement on deposit; refund by manufacturer.
Sec. 2.
(1) A dealer within this state shall not sell, offer for sale, or give to a consumer a nonreturnable container or a beverage in a nonreturnable container.
(2) A dealer who regularly sells beverages for consumption off the dealer's premises shall provide on the premises, or within 100 yards of the premises on which the dealer sells or offers for sale a beverage in a returnable container, a convenient means whereby the containers of any kind, size, and brand sold or offered for sale by the dealer may be returned by, and the deposit refunded in cash to, a person whether or not the person is the original customer of that dealer, and whether or not the container was sold by that dealer.
(3) Regional centers for the redemption of returnable containers may be established, in addition to but not as substitutes for, the means established for refunds of deposits prescribed in subsection (2).
(4) Except as provided in subsections (5) and (7), a dealer shall accept from a person an empty returnable container of any kind, size, and brand sold or offered for sale by that dealer and pay to that person its full refund value in cash.
(5) A dealer who does not require a deposit on a returnable container when the contents are consumed in the dealer's sale or consumption area is not required to pay a refund for accepting that empty container.
(6) Except as provided in subsection (7), a distributor shall accept from a dealer an empty returnable container of any kind, size, and brand sold or offered for sale by that distributor and pay to the dealer its full refund value in cash.
(7) Each beverage container sold or offered for sale by a dealer within this state shall clearly indicate by embossing or by a stamp, a label, or other method securely affixed to the beverage container, the refund value of the container and the name of this state. A dealer or distributor may, but is not required to, refuse to accept from a person an empty returnable container which does not state on the container the refund value of the container and the name of this state. This subsection does not apply to a refillable container having a refund value of not less than 10 cents, having a brand name permanently marked on it, and having a securely affixed method of indicating that it is a returnable container.
(8) A dealer within this state shall not sell, offer for sale, or give to consumers a metal beverage container, any part of which becomes detached when opened.
(9) A person, dealer, distributor, or manufacturer shall not return an empty container to a dealer for a refund of the deposit if a dealer has already refunded the deposit on that returnable container. This subsection does not prohibit a dealer from refunding the deposit on an empty returnable container each time the returnable container is sanitized by the manufacturer and reused as a beverage container.
(10) A dealer may accept, but is not required to accept, from a person, empty returnable containers for a refund in excess of $25.00 on any given day.
(11) A manufacturer licensed by the commission shall not require a distributor licensed by the commission to pay a deposit to the manufacturer on a nonrefillable container. However, a manufacturer licensed by the commission and a distributor licensed by the commission may enter into an agreement providing that either or both may originate a deposit or any portion of a deposit on a nonrefillable container if the agreement is entered into freely and without coercion.
(12) A manufacturer shall refund the deposit paid on any container returned by a distributor for which a deposit has been paid by a distributor to the manufacturer.
(13) Subsections (4), (6), and (7) apply only to a returnable container that was originally sold in this state as a filled returnable container.
1976, Initiated Law 1, Eff. Dec. 3, 1978; Am. 1977, Act 270, Eff. Mar. 30, 1978; Am. 1982, Act 39, Imd. Eff. Mar. 16, 1982; Am. 1982, Act 266, Imd. Eff. Oct. 5, 1982; Am. 1986, Act 235, Eff. June 1, 1989; Am. 1998, Act 473, Eff. Apr. 1, 1999
[PopularName] Bottle Bill
Source: Michigan Legislature (legislature.mi.gov)URL: https://legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-445-572Fetched: 10/20/2026