NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Richard P. Smith
or Lucy J. La Faive
(906) 225-1002 rpsoutdoors@chartermi.net
Book About How You Can Make Extra Money From Returnables
With the high rate of inflation, many people are looking for ways to save money. One way to save money on grocery bills is to take advantage of the beverage container deposit law that has been in effect in Michigan since 1978, and there’s a new book that was recently published that tells you how to do it. As a result of that 1978 law, there’s a 10-cent deposit on most cans and bottles, but not everyone returns their beverage containers to claim that deposit money.
The new book, titled Nickel & Dime Your Way to Extra Dollars While Saving The Planet by veteran outdoor writer Richard P. Smith from Marquette, tells you how to cash in on the deposit money others don’t want. A dime at a time doesn’t seem like much, but those dimes add up if you collect enough of them. A number of Marquette nonprofits and service organizations, for example, have conducted fundraisers through can and bottle drives that have generated thousands of dollars. One of the chapters in the book is about those efforts.
By following advice in the book, individuals can collect enough returnables to amount to hundreds of dollars and even thousands, for those willing to spend enough time at it. One of the book’s chapters, for instance, is about a 13-year-old boy from California who has cashed in close to two million cans and bottles in that state with his father’s help. That boy has already earned enough money from can and bottle returns to pay for most, if not all, of his college education.
Due to the pandemic, the redemption rate for returnables reached all-time lows in Michigan during 2020 and 2021. The return of cans and bottles for deposit refunds was halted from March 25 until June 15, 2020. That suspension resulted in many residents getting out of the habit of reclaiming deposit money. The book explains how anyone who wants to can benefit from that tendency.
Anyone who takes the time to increase the redemption rate for cans and bottles, so they can be recycled, is benefiting the environment and ultimately, the planet. One of the results from increased rates of recycling besides providing raw materials to make more cans and bottles, is reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Keeping more returnables out of landfills also extends the life of existing landfills.
The book covers how expansion of container deposit laws to more states will be major steps toward protecting the environment as well as benefiting the economy of those states, too. In fact, expansion of container deposits to more states is one of the quickest, easiest and most efficient ways to have an impact on reversing climate change.
Nickel & Dime Your Way To Extra Dollars can be found in some bookstores and gift shops. The books can also be ordered for $20 postpaid from Smith Publications, 814 Clark St., Marquette, MI 49855 or the website www.richardpsmith.com.
