Well it looks like the fun-loving, beer-drinking, scrap-yard-frequenting folks in Michigan have finally gone and done it. They’ve spoiled it for all their plain-old fun-loving, beer-drinking, non-scrap-yard-frequenting neighbors by not returning their empty kegs to their rightful owners. Instead, many Michigan draft beer lovers have been forgoing their $10 deposit and selling the kegs to scrap yards. As it turns out, the criminal activity has become so popular that state officials have had to triple the deposit fee.

Apparently the thieves were gaining anywhere from $20-$25 for each keg. This was a bit of a jump, as the cost of stainless steel soared to roughly $.25/pound during late 2005. I find it fascinating that someone would go threw all the trouble of finding a scrap yard, haggling with some scrap yard owner and only get $15 out of the deal. Seems like a lot of work for just about enough money to buy a decent case, but to each his own I guess.

Beer manufacturers spend as much as $152 to replace each one of these lost barrels, so you can imagine they were pretty steamed as this new beer “venture” became more and more rampant. Initially, they lobbied for the Michigan State Government to raise the deposit from $10 to $90. Feeling that this hike might be a little excessive, cooler heads prevailed and the new $30 deposit fee was set in place.

My questions is - Whatever happened to bringing a keg to a party, getting everyone drunk, waiting for people to pass out and then taking their cars to the scrap yard for cash? Come on Michigan, you gotta earn that scrap yard living!