My bottle return story

I see the deposit info on cans and bottles, but had no idea, it could be such a hassle beyond just taking them back, like scanning barcodes , nonsense like "you didn't buy it here, you can't return it here" etc.

Here the city provides 90 gallon blue wheeled trash cans for recycling, and we put all recyclables (glass, cans, both aluminum and steel, cardboard, newsprint, paper, plastics, etc.) in the can and take it to the street every other week for pickup.

 

Question:
In states with deposits, does a retailer that sells products in containers with deposits, also have to redeem them?

 

In Michigan they do, but there may be exceptions for small places. I never see anyone bring bottles back to c-stores at gas stations, thus maybe they are excluded. Just a guess.

 

Me and my grade school buddies were having trouble with that back in the 1950s when the guy who ran the little corner grocery was constantly accusing us bringing him bottles of pop brands he didn't sell to get the 2¢ deposit.

"WTF, Buffie, we're just gonna turn around and spend it on candy, comic books and baseball cards. Plus, the nearest other store is 2 miles away!"

 

In Iowa they do. I've looked it up and called out the Bottle & Can Manager at my local store for not accepting cans he sold me. He told me to just take them inside to Customer Service. Nothing like making the lady who handles postage stamps and dry-cleaning deal with 500 beer cans.

I've seen people going into gas stations before with pop bottles, and you could tell the store was unfamiliar with doing so.

 

If a retailer in Massachusetts accepts bottle returns of products they do not carry / sell (therefore they cannot return them to a distributor for recycling) they can be fined. It's not nonsense. It's the law.

Retail locations that sell products that can be redeemed for the deposit are required to accept up to 120 units IIRC (5 cases) - more than that, and the retailer has to refer the customer to the nearest actual redemption center. The retailer can refuse to accept the returns if they are in a state that the distributor would not accept them in (e.g. cans covered in mold, dirt, bugs, etc).