Are Kalamazoo Stores Illegally Rejecting Your Bottle Returns

A Walmart on the West side of Kalamazoo rejected dozens of my cans at the bottle return leaving me very frustrated this weekend. Has this happened to you?

Last Sunday morning I cleaned out my garage and took nearly 200 Mountain Dew cans to the bottle return section of the Walmart on 9th Street.  Yes, that's a lot of Mountain Dew cans.  And yes, I have a problem.  Don't judge me.  I was shocked that 36 cans were rejected by Walmart out of 197 total cans.  That means 18% of my return was not accepted.  I took those 36 cans to the Meijer on 9th Street and they accepted 32 of those cans.

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Correct me if I'm wrong but, as long as the store sells that product and it was sold in Michigan, by law the store must accept the returns.  I know for a fact that Walmart sells Mountain Dew and the top of each can is clearly marked "MI 10¢."

I'm assuming by the large number of cans and bottles I've noticed over the last few weeks simply left behind in carts in the bottle return area that I am not alone.  Sure, it's not a big deal for me to be out $3.60.  But that adds up over time.  Not to mention, we're forced to pay the 10-cent deposit on each container, not getting it back at the bottle return is stealing from the customers.

If a Michigan store is rejecting your bottle return you can report them to the Michigan Consumer Protection Team by tapping here.