The 10¢ Side Gig: How Michiganders Are Winning at Recycling

I embarrassed myself in the grocery store the other day. This isn’t an unusual thing. I embarrass myself quite often, I mean, I talk on the radio and even I’m not sure of the words that are going to fall out of my mouth half the time.  

I walked into the bottle and can return section of the store assuming that I could get into the rest of store that way. I could not. The people returning the cans and bottles (and there were a fair few) wondered why I had walked in—with no cans or bottles. So, did I, but I kept walking, into the part of the door that doesn't open. 

Ouch. 

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Two steps to the right and 15 steps forward later, and I’m finally in the store. I bought everything on my list and some Ibuprofen for the new knot on my head. Reliving the moment over and over in my head, as you do, eventually I stopped focusing on the embarrassment and started focusing on the recycling.  

There were about ten people in this can and bottle return, more than I’ve seen recycling at one time in the state where I live. I had a vague notion of the 10¢ return concept available to Michiganders. Let me tell you, it’s an intriguing concept, one that we do not implement back home.  

SEE ALSO: Virginia vs. Michigan: Weird Words and Wreckless Turns

Virginia does not have the deposit/return option. Recycling services are available. You can drop off your glass and aluminum in a number of places, like grocery stores with embarrassing doors.  You can also save your cans and take them to scrap yards and get around 50¢ per pound.  

Breaking that down: A standard 12-ounce can weighs in at about half an ounce, meaning it takes roughly 30 cans to make one pound.   

30 cans = 50¢ in Virginia.
30 cans = $3.00 in Michigan. 

That means the 10¢ incentive in Michigan pays six times more than recycling aluminum in Virginia. 

Six times more back in your pocket means that more Michiganders are recycling than Virginians. According to a report to the Virginia General Assembly, about 43% of Virginia’s solid waste was recycled in 2021. Compared to Michigan where Bridge Michigan reported that pre-pandemic recycling rates in Michigan hovered at around 90%, fell to 73% during COVID-19, which is about where they remain today.  

If you’re keeping score, that’s:
Michiganders — 10¢ each.
Virginians — 0¢, unless you’re willing to hit up the scrap yard. 

What a side hustle, Michigan! Glad to know your stewardship of the earth is a green win all the way around. Virginia and other states would be smart to follow your lead. We all need to do right by the planet. Because, let's face it, it's the only one we've got.

One question though...why is Meijer spelled with a silent “j?”