Mid-Michigan Dining

From a press release….

Legislature begins work to stop bottle return fraud

LANSING – A bipartisan, bicameral package of legislation designed to upgrade reverse vending machines to prevent fraud from illegal bottle returns saw action this week as the bills passed out of House and Senate committees.

“Michigan is losing millions of dollars annually due to out-of-state bottles and cans being returned in exchange for the 10-cent deposit,” said bill sponsor Sen. Ron Jelinek. “In a time of economic crisis, we need to do what we can to keep this money in the state.”

In addition to committee action, a bill was introduced by Sen. Cameron Brown that would establish a fund to help reimburse the costs of the machine upgrades.

“We want to assist our manufacturers and retailers with the costs to comply with the new law,” Brown said. “As a legislator representing four counties that border two different states, I know how simple it is for redemption fraud to occur. This legislation will help bring an end to this criminal activity.” Read the rest of this entry »