Michiganders with a stash of bottles and cans building up since mid-March can start taking them back today. Bottle returns are coming back in phases. Right now stores are limited in how many they can take back. Stores can also limit the number of machines they have open and periodically close bottle rooms for cleaning. Here is Frank Guglielmi, a spokesman for Meijer.
So there could be days, at certain stores, depending on where they are, for higher volume stores, where customers may arrive and the bottle room is shut down, simply because we have maxed out in terms of how much we can bring in at that time.
The state treasury estimates that Michiganders have accumulated $67 million dollars in uncollected returnable deposits.
Returns were prohibited temporarily to allow grocery stores to shift workers to restocking shelves and to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.