ILLEGAL CAN REDEMPTION A PROBLEM IN MICHIGAN

RICHARD TURCSIK

ROSEVILLE, Mich. -- Two New York men who allegedly tried to redeem a truckload of empty soda cans at a Meijer Inc. store here -- a plot similar to a "Seinfeld" episode -- did not get many laughs.

The two men were arrested for allegedly feeding empty beverage containers into a store redemption machine for three hours.

Police officers said the bottles were either marked for deposit in other states or did not have any deposit markings. They also said they found 19 uncashed receipts from the Meijer store for $124.30, or 1,243 bottles at 10 cents each.

According to the police, the men also had receipts totaling almost $500 from other Meijer, Farmer Jack and Kroger stores.

If convicted on felony charges of false pretenses over $100, they each could face up to 10 years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

In a 1996 "Seinfeld" episode, two of the show's supporting cast members drove a mail truck full of empty cans and bottles from New York to Michigan because that state offers a 10-cent deposit, while other states with deposit laws offer 5 cents.

Officials at Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Meijer declined to comment, but William Lobenherz, president of the Michigan Soft Drink Association in Lansing, said illegal redemption has become an increasing problem over the last year, especially in border areas.

"Michigan has an unclaimed deposit law and because of the illegal deposits that means less money is going to the state. We see this as a problem and are looking to pass laws to make this a greater crime with increased penalties," Lobenherz said.

He added that "reverse" vending machines have been installed in about 20% to 25% of supermarkets in the state, in large-volume stores that have the traffic to support them. Patrons feed the machines cans in exchange for a receipt that can be redeemed for cash or groceries at the store. Although the machines shut down after 720 cans have been redeemed, they are unable to read the cans to verify that the products were purchased in Michigan.

Mary Dechow, government relations manager for Spartan Stores, a Grand Rapids-based cooperative wholesaler, said the problem of illegal redemptions has gotten worse since the advent of vending machines.

"The vending machines make people braver and more apt to try to do something, whereas before when they knew the clerk behind the counter was going to take a look at everything or at least touch every can as they counted them, they were a little less apt to try and sneak cans in," Dechow said.

"For my stores along the state line, redeeming triple the amount of cans they sell is not unusual," she added.

On the bright side, Dechow said the high deposit has resulted in much less litter along the state's roadways.

Lobenherz does not attribute the increasing problem to "Seinfeld."

"If there is spiking in the redemption of cans it is because of significant illegal activity, and not because of consumers returning a couple of cans across the state line. This was a phenomenon that existed before 'Seinfeld' aired," he said.