Oregon
May. 29, 2011 With the first even split between Democrats and Republicans in the Oregon House, it seemed safe to say there would be many close votes this session. Bottle bill: The House passed a sweeping revision by a 47-12 vote; the Senate, initially, by 16-14 along party lines. Republican Jason Atkinson of Central Point switched his vote before Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, announced the result. Morse and Sen. Bruce Starr of Hillsboro received permission to switch afterward — such changes are allowed within a daily session if the outcome is not affected — so the official Senate vote was 19-11. Statesman Journal
June 6th, 2011 Kruse tried to persuade his Senate colleagues that too-high deposits in Michigan and Massachusetts were crippling those programs. But Michigan says that’s not the case and Massachusetts doesn’t even have a higher deposit rate. Kruse doesn’t have any evidence to back up his claim. The statement is not just false -- it’s ridiculous. PolitiFact Oregon
June 9, 2011 Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber signed into law today the latest revision to the state's landmark bottle bill, which expands the scope of containers covered by attaching a nickel deposit to all beverages, including beer, soft drinks, water, juice and sports drinks. The expansion would go into effect in 2018 or when redemption centers collect 60 percent of currently-covered items, whichever occurs first. Additionally, it would raise the current five-cent deposit to a dime if redemption rates dip below 80 percent for two years in a row. Resource Recycling Electronic Newsletter
June 10. 2011 Gov. John Kitzhaber signs a bill revamping Oregon’s bottle deposit system at the Capitol in Salem on Thursday. Under the bill, the deposit system will apply to just about any glass, metal or plastic beverage container by 2018. The Bend Bulletin
Jun. 10, 2011 WINNER: Oregon Bottle Bill. Gov. John Kitzhaber on Thursday signed what is only the second expansion of the venerable Bottle Bill in its 40-year history. By 2018, the bottle-deposit and -recycling requirements will cover most beverages sold in containers — but not milk, wine or liquor. Statesman Journal
June 10, 2011 Governor John Kitzhaber has signed into law an expansion of Oregon's Bottle Bill that will require a five cent deposit on energy drinks, juice and tea containers no later than 2018. Senator Jackie Dingfelder has been a champion of the legislation, and say she’s glad the state is taking conservation seriously. State Senator Chris Telfer of Bend says she's disappointed in the passage of the bill, and she plans to do something about it. News/Talk 1110 KBND
June 11, 2011 Oregon’s governor has signed off on a revision to the state’s 40-year bottle bill that will double the deposit value if redemption rates fall below a certain threshold two years in a row. While the move almost certainly will boost recycling rates, it could mean little to scrapyards operating in the state. Metal Bulletin
Estonia
Jun 3, 2011 The Estonian Environment Ministry has sent for endorsement a bill of amendments to a regulation to raise the deposit refund for a half-litre beverage package from the present EUR 0.03 to EUR 0.04 and the deposit on bigger packages from EUR 0.06 to EUR 0.08, in an effort to increase recycling of packaging. The deposit refunding system on glass and plastic beverage packages is in force and unchanged since the introduction of the packaging deposit system on 1 May 2005. Delfi Majandus
Texas
June 8, 2011 SAN ANTONIO -- The Texas Legislature barely passed a school finance bill but could not pass a bill that supporters say would help clean up Texas. That proposal to put deposits on beverage containers got bottled up, but supporters are not giving up. KSAT.com
