May 6, 2009
Expanded bottle bill sees more changes
Up for a vote, the bill is sent back to revenue committee
Oregon's expanded bottle bill — plagued by concerns about convenience, return rates and the deposit amount — was sent back to committee Tuesday even though it was up for a House floor vote for the second time.
The proposed bottle bill, House Bill 2184, adds sport drinks, juice and similar noncarbonated drinks beginning in 2013; establishes an annual beverage container return rate goal of at least 80 percent in 2015; changes the container refund value to 10 cents in 2017 if the 80 percent return rate goal is not met.
"I had expected it to pass," said Bob Danko of the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. "It's a reasonable bill, it's really what we need, and in the long run it will be the best thing to do. It looks like we have more hoops to jump through."
The bill was referred to the revenue committee to incorporate a discussion about House Bill 3465, which would require unredeemed deposits to go to the state's general fund.
The state estimates unredeemed deposits to be $20 million to $30 million per year.
Right now, distributors keep the nickel deposits from bottles not returned by customers.
Distributors and grocers have proposed using the money from unredeemed deposits, plus additional money from industry, to create a system of redemption centers for bottles around the state.
House Bill 3465 takes away what the state wants: public convenience with returning bottles, said Joe Gilliam, the president of the Northwest Grocery Association.
Gilliam said the industry wants at least two years to work on redemption centers before dealing with more containers under the bottle bill.
Tuesday's move is one indication that the majority of representatives agree.
"If (the expanded bottle bill) had the support, it would have passed today," Gilliam said. "It is down in revenue on life support."
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