A Better Bottle Bill – Lightning in a Bottle

Michigan’s bottle deposit system: Buy a beverage, pay a bit of upcharge, drink it, return it, get that upcharge back.

It’s as routine an experience for us Michiganders as talking about the weather. Yet, it’s extremely powerful. It’s a way for us, as individuals, to come together to make collective change. That’s also how the law came to be: through a ballot campaign that 63% of people voted in favor of back in 1976. Now, people love it even more. Over 9 in 10 bottles have been returned through the system over 48 years.

Bill Rustem was the man behind that ballot drive. He joins us to talk about the behind-the-scenes stories of it all, the bottle deposti’s success and what he thinks its future should look like.

Listen wherever you get your podcasts

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To share your thoughts or questions about Michigan’s bottle deposit system, click here.

To learn more about Bill Rustem and Gov. Bill Milliken, click here.

Common Groundwater is hosted by the Michigan Environmental Council and Lansing resident Beau Brockett Jr.

Our music is “The Four Seasons” by Antonio Vivaldi, arranged by Derek Zhang and performed by Jackson resident Taj Wallace.

Our 2024 series is sponsored by Kalsec, a global ingredient company headquartered in Kalamazoo that meets the highest recognized social and environmental standards through its B Corps certification.