LANSING, Mich. (June 11, 2025) – Today, Sen. Sean McCann (D-Kalamazoo) reintroduced legislation that would allow the Michigan Legislature to place the question of whether to expand Michigan’s Bottle Deposit Law before voters in 2026.
“I am proud to continue my longstanding efforts to expand Michigan’s highly successful Bottle Law. It is well past time to ensure that plastic water bottles are added to eligible containers for a deposit return, and to also establish universal redemption of containers so consumers can easily return them to any store,” said Sen. McCann. “Including water bottles under the deposit law would help divert over two billion water bottles per year out of landfills.”
Sen. McCann also supports a potential external effort to gather signatures to place the question on the 2026 ballot, saying, “I welcome any path that achieves putting this question to Michigan voters. It’s time to take to the next level a system that already works extremely well.”
If enacted by a simple majority vote, this legislation would forego the need for the collection of signatures to place a question of expansion on the 2026 ballot.
“Passage of my legislation could potentially save the extensive resources needed for a petition drive,” Sen. McCann said. “Signature collection efforts take substantial human and financial resources to be successful in just reaching the ballot, much less a campaign to be successful.”
Sen. McCann has pushed for expanding the Bottle Deposit Law since he joined the Michigan House of Representatives in 2011, introducing legislation in every legislative session he has served in the House and the Senate: 2011-12, 2013-14, 2019-20, 2021-22, and 2023-24.