( Mental Floss ) -- The classic `` Seinfeld '' episode `` The Bottle Deposit '' will be 15 years old in May . In honor of Kramer and Newman 's ill-fated trip to Michigan in a mail truck full of bottles and cans they hoped to redeem for dimes , let 's take a look at why Michigan 's bottle deposit is so high . How long has Michigan had the dime deposit ? The 10-cent deposit traces its roots back to the Michigan Beverage Containers Law of 1976 . Here 's how it works : the consumer pays an additional dime up front , which will be refunded when the can or bottle is returned . The rule aims to curb litter , encourage recycling , and provide funding for environmental programs . Mental Floss : Why Does Bottled Water Have an Expiration Date ? Does the higher deposit prompt more recycling ? A five-cent difference may sound trifling , but the higher deposit helps make Michigan 's recycling program wildly successful . Although it 's tough to track fraudulent cans and bottles that come in from outside the state , the Michigan program has returned over 95 percent of the deposits it has taken in since the year 2000 . According to stats published by the Container Recycling Institute , these rates dramatically outpace those in states with nickel deposits , where redemption rates largely remain in the 60-to-80-percent range . Those dimes add up , too . In 2008 , Michigan returned over $ 407 million in deposits . Mental Floss : A Seinfeld guest star quiz . Could Kramer and Newman really have pulled off their stunt ? Possibly , but it would have been illegal . Bringing in containers from other states and taking Michigan 's dimes is technically fraud . In 2011 , they 'd have had an additional problem , as the state now uses `` reverse vending machines '' to scan barcodes and make sure the container in question is eligible for redemption . Moreover , they might have had to find quite a few stores to redeem their cans . Under Michigan law , retailers have to return $ 25 worth of deposits per person per day . Retailers are allowed to return larger sums at their own discretion , but they 're only required to shell out $ 25 to each person . Since Kramer and Newman had $ 500 worth of cans apiece , they might have found themselves hoofing it to 20 different retailers . Mental Floss : Stories behind 11 regional soft drinks . Has anyone actually tried this scam ? Oh yeah . In 2007 , Michigan State Police ran Operation Can Scam -- no points for creative naming there -- which led to the arraignment of 10 grocers and conspirators . The grocers ' scam was pretty much Kramer and Newman 's idea on a grander scale : smugglers in Ohio collected millions of cans and sold them to grocers at a discount off the 10-cent redemption value . The grocers then redeemed the deposits for the full dime , and everyone made a profit . At least they did until the law caught wind of the scheme . In the course of making the 10 arrests , the authorities turned up millions of cans and $ 500,000 in cash . The director of the Michigan State Police told ClickonDetroit.com that similar scams defraud the state of $ 13 million each year . What happens to any unclaimed dimes ? Even though an extremely high percentage of containers are returned , unclaimed deposits still regularly add up to eight-figure sums each year . Three quarters of that money goes into the Cleanup and Redevelopment Trust Fund to pay for environmental programs , while the remainder goes to the retailers . For more mental_floss articles , visit mentalfloss.com . Entire contents of this article copyright , Mental Floss LLC . All rights reserved .
In ` ` The Bottle " , ` ` Seinfeld 's Kramer and Newman decide to redeem bottles and cans . The higher deposit makes Michigan 's recycling program successful . Operation Can ##dle leads to the deaths of 10 grocers and dealers .