Common Groundwater
Michigan is defined by the Great Lakes that surround it. But there's a so-called sixth lake that’s critical to our state, too: our groundwater. It flows deeply through every community and to every corner of our peninsulas. Yet, we have so much more to learn about this natural feature.
Like groundwater, this podcast shows environmental issues felt deeply, widely and personally across the state. It tells stories around those issues and the solutions to them. It goes beyond the headlines to bring listeners and viewers something grand yet personal to us all.
Common Groundwater
Lightning in a Bottle
Michigan’s bottle deposit system: Buy a beverage, pay a bit of upcharge, drink it, return it, get that upcharge back.
It’s as routine an experience for us Michiganders as talking about the weather. Yet, it’s extremely powerful. It's a way for us, as individuals, to come together to make collective change. That’s also how the law came to be: through a ballot campaign that 63% of people voted in favor of back in 1976. Now, people love it even more. Over 9 in 10 bottles have been returned through the system over 48 years.
Bill Rustem was the man behind that ballot drive. He joins us to talk about the behind-the-scenes stories of it all, the bottle deposit's success and what he thinks its future should look like.
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To learn more about Michigan's bottle deposit system, head over to the website of the Michigan Environmental Council. You can also subscribe to its email and follow it on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn.
To learn more about Bill Rustem and Gov. Bill Milliken, click here.
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Common Groundwater is hosted by the Michigan Environmental Council and Beau Brockett Jr.
Our music is "The Four Seasons" by Antonio Vivaldi, arranged by Derek Zhang and performed by Jackson resident Taj Wallace.
