May 4, 2011
GOP support yields bipartisan bottle bill
A significant update to Oregon's landmark container deposit law has cleared the state's House of Representatives, adding containers to the list of covered items, launching a pilot project for a series of stand-alone redemption centers and increasing the deposit value to a dime if the redemption rate falls below 80 percent for containers covered under the bottle bill.
The Oregon House is evenly divided with 30 Democrats and 30 Republicans, but from its introduction, the bill enjoyed bipartisan support. Along with Rep. Ben Canon (D-Portland), the bill was sponsored by Rep. Vicki Berger (R-Salem), whose father was one of the authors of Oregon's original container deposit law 40 years ago. Additionally, support from grocers, the beverage industry, which owns the Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative, and Co-Speaker of the House Rep. Bruce Hanna (R-Roseburg) — a beverage industry veteran — were instrumental in securing needed Republican votes.
HB 3145 passed by a vote of 47-12, with 19 House Republicans voting in favor. The bill now moves to the state Senate where it is expected to move more easily.
"Adding beverage containers like sports drinks and teas to the Bottle Bill will bring this historic legislation in line with modern realities, will reduce confusion among consumers, and will increase recycling rates of containers that would otherwise end up in a landfill or as litter," said Oregon League of Conservation Voters Executive Director Jon Isaacs in a prepared statement.
http://resource-recycling.com/node/1200
