May 25, 2011
Senate OKs Bottle Bill update
SALEM — The state Senate Wednesday gave final approval to an update of the Oregon Bottle Bill.
Republicans Frank Morse of Albany, Jason Atkinson of Central Point and Bruce Starr of Hillsboro joined all Democrats in advancing the legislation. The 19-11 vote sends HB 3145 to Democratic Gov. John Kitzhaber.
The bill includes in the deposit requirement more containers of drinks for human consumption — in addition to water, soda and beer — starting in 2018 or one year after the Oregon Liquor Control Commission determines that at least 60 percent of beverage containers returned for the refund are returned to an approved redemption center, whichever comes first.
It also raises the deposit from a nickel to 10 cents, but not before 2016, and only if redemption rates have fallen below 80 percent for two years running.
The newly covered containers can’t be counted in that calculation of redemption rates before 2021.
It also calls for a pilot project of a redemption center in one city of under 300,000 population.
Proponents said it’s time to modernize the law so it applies to energy drinks, bottled coffee and other beverages that weren’t around when the measure was created in 1971.
“As the bottle bill turns 40, it is showing signs of age,” said Sen. Mark Hass, D-Beaverton.
Proponents say a higher financial incentive would encourage more people to redeem their bottles, and it would push retailers to ensure the deposit system is run efficiently because they’ll want to avoid the hike.
California, Maine, Michigan and Vermont all charge 10 cents or more on at least some beverage containers.
Majority Democrats rejected a Republican attempt to strip the bill of the provision that would potentially hike the deposit. Some Republicans said they supported most provisions in the bill but could not vote for a bill that would potentially increase costs for consumers.
“If we need the extra nickel in the future we can add it,” said Sen. Alan Olsen, R-Canby.
A nickel when the program was first created had the buying power of 28 cents today. Redemption has fallen from a peak of nearly 100 percent participation in the 1990s, in part due to the expansion of curbside recycling and consumer frustration with grocery-store redemption centers.
Oregon already has two centralized redemption centers in Portland suburbs. They allow consumers to manually count their cans at an automated system as they would in a grocery store, allow staff to hand count them or drop them off in pre-marked bags and get the money later.
Rep. Ben Cannon, a Portland Democrat and proponent of the bill, said he expects redemption centers to grow and handle more containers but not to altogether eliminate grocery stores.
Oregon was the first state to create a bottle deposit system designed to encourage recycling and reduce litter. The concept has been replicated in at least nine U.S. states, 12 Canadian provinces and 15 countries, including Australia, Germany and Switzerland, according to the Container Recycling Institute, a California-based research group.
http://www.democratherald.com/news/local/article_f37b4636-875f-11e0-8d2c-001cc4c002e0.html
