Michigan is one of 10 states in the U.S. with a beverage container deposit law to encourage recycling, but since the pandemic when return sites were shut down for months, Michigan's bottle redemption rate has dropped. Eighty-eight percent of beverage containers were returned for refunds in 2019, according to the Michigan Department of Treasury. The redemption rate dropped to 73% in 2020 and has ticked up, holding steady at 75% for the last two years.
