How much Michigan bottle deposit money goes unclaimed?

$119.2 million in 2025. Source: Michigan Dept. of Treasury, Bottle Deposit Information (total owed by under-redeemers). 75% goes to a state cleanup fund and 25% to retailers, after $1 million for enforcement.

What is the Michigan bottle return rate?

69.4% in 2025. This is the share of deposits refunded. Source: Michigan Dept. of Treasury, Bottle Deposit Information.

How many people in Michigan live in a redemption desert?

About 157,229 people. That is 1.6% of people in Michigan. A desert means the closest return spot is more than 10 miles away, or more than 3 miles in a crowded area.

Where are the redemption centers near me in Michigan?

Our Michigan map has 1,399 return spots. Search by city or ZIP on the Michigan page.

Where can I return bottles in a rural Michigan county?

The table on this page lists the closest return spots for the most rural counties. Call ahead before you drive.

Redemption Deserts · Michigan

Michigan redemption deserts and unclaimed deposits

Can people in Michigan get their deposit back? It depends on where they live. Here is how far people live from a place to return bottles and cans.

157,229people live in a redemption desert

1.6%of people in Michigan (rank 6 of 10)

$119.2 millionunclaimed deposits (2025)

69.4%share of deposits refunded (2025)

How sure are we? Medium. We list grocery stores because the law says they must take returns. Some may not, so real access may be worse than shown.

Key findings for Michigan

About 157,229 of 10,077,331 people live in a redemption desert.
151,704 people live more than 10 miles from the closest return spot.
5,525 people live in crowded areas more than 3 miles from a return spot.
The typical trip is 1 miles in a straight line. 48.1% of people live within 1 mile.
Montcalm County is hardest hit. 34.1% of people there live in a desert.
$119.2 million in deposits went unclaimed in 2025.

Unclaimed money and return rate

Unclaimed deposits: $119.2 million (2025). Source: Michigan Dept. of Treasury, Bottle Deposit Information (total owed by under-redeemers). 75% goes to a state cleanup fund and 25% to retailers, after $1 million for enforcement.
Return rate: 69.4% (2025), the share of deposits refunded. Source: Michigan Dept. of Treasury, Bottle Deposit Information.
Deposit: 10¢.

Map of Michigan counties

Map loads as you scroll…

Worst counties

Michigan counties with the biggest share of people in a desert
County	People	In a desert	Share	Typical trip
Montcalm County	66,614	22,730	34.1%	5.2 mi
Ontonagon County	5,816	1,774	30.5%	4.4 mi
Alcona County	10,167	2,977	29.3%	6.4 mi
Gladwin County	25,386	7,296	28.7%	7.6 mi
Keweenaw County	2,046	554	27.1%	6 mi
Iosco County	25,237	6,425	25.5%	3.3 mi
Mackinac County	10,834	2,748	25.4%	3.9 mi
Cass County	51,589	12,424	24.1%	7.3 mi
Chippewa County	36,785	6,882	18.7%	3.7 mi
Lake County	12,096	2,200	18.2%	5.3 mi

Michigan towns and places where most people live in a desert
Town or place	People	In a desert	Share	Typical trip
Howard City village	3,192	3,192	100%	12.9 mi
Coleman city	2,107	2,107	100%	10.1 mi
White Cloud city	1,696	1,696	100%	10 mi
Vermontville village	1,546	1,546	100%	11.4 mi
Morley village	1,400	1,400	100%	10.1 mi
Edmore village	1,374	1,374	100%	11.7 mi
Elsie village	1,118	1,118	100%	10.5 mi
Hubbard Lake CDP	1,054	1,054	100%	12.1 mi

Best-served places

Michigan counties with the shortest typical trip
County	People	In a desert	Share	Typical trip
Wayne County	1,793,561	0	0%	0.6 mi
Macomb County	881,217	0	0%	0.8 mi
Washtenaw County	372,258	0	0%	0.8 mi
Ingham County	284,900	0	0%	0.8 mi
Oakland County	1,274,395	0	0%	0.9 mi
Kent County	657,974	0	0%	0.9 mi
Dickinson County	25,947	1,662	6.4%	0.9 mi
Kalamazoo County	261,670	0	0%	1 mi

Michigan towns (20,000 people or more) with the shortest typical trip
Town or place	People	Share	Typical trip
Hamtramck city	28,428	0%	0.3 mi
Dearborn city	109,976	0%	0.4 mi
Birmingham city	20,663	0%	0.4 mi
Southgate city	30,014	0%	0.4 mi
Madison Heights city	28,468	0%	0.4 mi
Detroit city	639,116	0%	0.5 mi
Lincoln Park city	40,245	0%	0.5 mi
Ann Arbor city	121,834	0%	0.5 mi

Where to return bottles in rural Michigan counties

These are the most rural counties. We list the closest return spots to where most people live. Distances are straight-line. Call ahead.

Closest return spots for rural Michigan counties
County	Typical trip	Closest return spots
Gladwin County	7.6 mi	Family Fare - Gladwin (Gladwin, 2.7 mi) · Family Fare - Harrison (Harrison, 17.5 mi) · Family Fare (Harrison, 17.8 mi)
Cass County	7.3 mi	Harding's Friendly Market (Dowagiac, 7.1 mi) · Family Fare - Dowagiac (Dowagiac, 7.6 mi) · Save-A-Lot (Dowagiac, 7.7 mi)
Alcona County	6.4 mi	Kris Mart (Lincoln, 3.2 mi) · Family Fare - Oscoda (Oscoda, 17.2 mi) · Roger's Family Foods (Oscoda Township, 17.9 mi)
Oceana County	6.4 mi	Hansen Foods (Hart, 5.1 mi) · Parkside Store (Golden Township, 9.6 mi) · Ed’s Orchard Market (Hesperia, 13.9 mi)
Hillsdale County	6.3 mi	Market House Supermarket (Hillsdale, 2.1 mi) · Kroger (Hillsdale, 2.2 mi) · Walmart Supercenter (Jonesville, 4.7 mi)
Huron County	6.3 mi	Walmart Supercenter (Bad Axe, 3 mi) · Meijer Bad Axe (Bad Axe, 3.1 mi) · McDonal's Food & Family Center (Bad Axe, 3.4 mi)
Keweenaw County	6 mi	Pat's Foods (Calumet Township, 10.2 mi) · Louie's Fresh Markets (Lake Linden, 11.8 mi) · Jim's Foodmart (Houghton, 19.5 mi)
Ogemaw County	5.8 mi	ALDI (West Branch, 5.4 mi) · Walmart Supercenter (West Branch, 5.5 mi) · Meijer West Branch (West Branch, 7.3 mi)

See all 1,399 Michigan return spots · Download county data (CSV)

How we did this

We used 2020 Census data on where people live. We found the closest return spot on our Michigan list in a straight line. A desert is more than 10 miles away, or more than 3 miles in a crowded area. Read the full method.

Our Michigan list: Sources: Meijer, Costco, Busch's, Family Fare, D&W Fresh Market, VG's and Forest Hills Foods store locators, and OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), all retrieved 2026-10-13. Michigan Department of Treasury, Bottle Deposit program: michigan.gov/taxes.