April 20, 2010
Container redemption center approved for Wood Village
Halsey Street facility to supplant three grocery store collectors
Oregon’s first beverage container redemption center will open this summer in Wood Village.
The Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) approved an application from the Portland-based Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative (OBRC) for the proposed center at 23345 N.E. Halsey St.
When it opens this summer, the facility will redeem beverage containers of all types and brands. It marks the first time since 1971 the state has authorized a redemption-only center separate from local grocery stores.
Once opened, beverage containers will no longer be accepted at Fred Meyer, 22855 N.E. Park Lane; Safeway, 2501 S.W. Cherry Park Road; and Wal-Mart, 23500 N.E. Sandy Blvd. Instead, the containers will be taken at the Halsey Street Redemption Center as well as smaller retailers in the area.
“Although, we’ve had the authority to site a redemption center since the inception of the bottle bill, this is the first viable application we’ve received,” said Stephen Pharo, OLCC executive director. “The pilot project that OBRC brought forward appears to provide a convenient service to consumers.”
Accepting 200 containers per person per day, the Wood Village center will be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the summer, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. the rest of the year. It will also have a 24-hour drop box for credit account holders.
“We’re thrilled to get this first bottle drop approved and ready to open,” said John Andersen, cooperative president. “Our goal is to make it easier for consumers to return cans and bottles while also strengthening Oregon’s bottle bill.”
The OBRC sought the Wood Village location after scrapping an earlier plan to locate Oregon’s first centralized redemption facility in Gresham.
Alisa Shifflett, project manager for the recycling cooperative, praised the Wood Village location – in one of a three-suite building owned by Randy Emerson just west of the Best Western – as well suited for dropping off and sorting recyclable beverage containers.
“It’s beautifully located on Halsey, with a turn lane and sufficient parking,” she said. “It was just a matter of finding a building that would meet the convenience requirement.”
The cooperative started looking for locations outside Gresham after controversy regarding the facility’s designation as a retail or community service.
Shifflett praised Wood Village city officials for a seamless approval process.
“They’ve been a real delight to work with,” she said.
The center will have employees to count small amounts of bottles and cans and immediately return deposit money to consumers and will have new reverse vending machines for consumers to use.
The redemption center concept stems from a change in Oregon’s bottle-bill guidelines that required individual supermarkets to collect containers on site.
For more information, visit the OBRC’s website at obrc.net.
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