March 27, 2009
Bottle bill now in larger size
Lawmakers vote to include more beverage containers
Legislators voted 5-3 Thursday to include juice, tea and other single-serve beverage containers in Oregon's bottle bill — sending the proposed expansion to the House floor.
The addition of sports drinks, teas and juices won't happen until 2013.
Another key component of the legislation sets an annual beverage container return rate goal of at least 80 percent by 2015. If Oregonians do not meet the goal, the deposit increases from a nickel to 10 cents.
"I am disappointed about the 10-cent deposit," said Katy Daily of Recycling Advocates. "It is needed to incent increased returns. I think we aren't going to reach 80 percent in 2015, but 10 cents will be worth a lot less then than it is now."
Grocers are disappointed by a requirement that they must take back containers even though they would like to get out of the obligation of accepting returned bottles at their stores.
The legislation requires that they accept at least 24 containers per person per day at their stores even though a seperate redemption center may be available to the customer.
The legislation does not include a mandate for redemption centers, an amendment considered by the committee.
Redemption centers — separate places where people can take containers and get their deposit back — are in the process of being established, said Paul Romain, lobbyist for the Oregon Beer and Wine Distributors Association. Several "test" redemption centers are in the works, including one in Raleigh Hills, Portland.
Romain opposes the bottle bill expansion, saying it was premature.
"You can't expand if you don't know that the system is going to work," he said. "If redemption centers go into place and people don't use them, what do we do?"
Right now, distributors plan to pay for redemption centers.
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20090327/LEGISLATURE/903270328/1042/STATE
