April 6, 2011
Major Changes Possible For Oregon's Bottle Deposit System
Some major changes may be in store for Oregon's first-in-the-nation bottle deposit system.
A legislative panel will hear arguments Thursday about a proposal to double Oregon's nickel deposit and expand the types of containers the Bottle Bill applies to.
The measure may also mean fewer stores would accept bottle returns.
It's a familiar sight in Oregon. Someone stands in front of a machine and feeds it empty bottles, one at a time.
When they're done they get a slip that they can redeem for cash -- a nickel for each container. But this machine is different because it isn't at a grocery store. It's at a suburban office park in Oregon City.
This is one of just two standalone bottle redemption centers in the state.
Tina Barker is feeding empty water bottles to the machine. It's her first time at this center, which opened in January.
Tina Barker: "I think this is really cool in the sense that you have attendants here to help you if something goes wrong with the machine. It's a clean place, clean facility, very organized. I would come back."
If she wanted, Barker wouldn't have to mess with the bottles at all. The redemption centers allow people to create an account. They can drop off empties by the bag-full at any time of the day or night.
Ryan Kramer is with the Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative. That's a group of beverage distributors that have teamed up to run the redemption centers.
Ryan Kramer: "We process it for them within 24 hours. And then they're able to access their account via a kiosk. We have a kiosk here, and then a kiosk at each of the participating retailers."
Those retailers are four nearby grocery stores. And they no longer accept bottle returns on site. These are just pilot projects now.
The proposal in the Oregon legislature would allow for more of these standalone redemption centers. And the bill includes even more change -- especially when you return your bottles.
The measure would double the deposit for bottles from five cents to ten cents -- Democratic Representative Ben Cannon says the higher rate won't be a burden to consumers.
Ben Cannon: "The Bottle Bill's 40 years old this year. If we had kept up with inflation, that nickel would be 20 or 25 cents. But a dime is easier to swallow than increasing it five-fold."
But Cannon's dime could only apply to some bottles and not others. Namely, if the recycling rate for a certain type of container drops below 80 percent.
Ben Cannon: "Aluminum, for example is returned at pretty high rates today. Plastic is not. So one possibility is that we move to ten cents on plastic but not aluminum."
Another proposed change to the Bottle Bill? Adding the deposit to things like sports drinks and juice bottles. Backers of that idea say the market for those beverages has exploded since the original Bottle Bill in 1971.
Back at the Oregon City Redemption Center, Tim Anderson says he wouldn't mind if more beverages required a deposit.
Tim Anderson: "It wouldn't bother me none. I mean, they did water bottles, which makes sense. It's better than just throwing them away."
Meanwhile Allen Cook was feeding a return machine with bottles he'd collected from co-workers and from along the road. The nickel deposit added up to about two bucks this time. But a dime?
Allen Cook: "That'd be wonderful. I don't pay for all of these ones that I put in. So I think that'd be a great idea. I'd get more money out of it."
But will some consumers change their buying habits if they have to fork over a ten cent deposit? Donna Groner says she won't scale back her purchases. But...
Donna Groner: "I kind of like it the way it is. I think that's enough. I guess I'm stuck in a rut, I don't know. If they do it, they do it. I guess it'd be okay."
If Oregon's deposit does go up to a dime it'd be tied with Michigan for the highest in the nation and with California, at least for big bottles. Ten states have some kind of beverage deposit. But Delaware no longer does. Lawmakers there repealed the bottle deposit law last year. The state plans to phase in universal access to curbside recycling.
Information about Oregon's Bottle Bill
Information about standalone bottle redemption centers
http://news.opb.org/article/major-changes-possible-oregons-bottle-deposit-system/
