February 21, 2007

Lawmakers discuss update to state's 1971 bottle bill
New law would expand to more types of containers
PETER WONG

Lawmakers and environmental groups have talked for years about changing Oregon's 1971 "bottle bill," which requires 5-cent deposits on bottles and cans of beer and soda.

But all the talk boils down to one word: Plastics.

State Rep. Vicki Berger, R-Salem, made that point Tuesday when she placed an empty plastic bottle of Oregon Rain, described as "natural virgin water," in front of her as she testified to a Senate committee.

"My point is simply that we have a class of highly recyclable containers that are not subject to the law today," said Berger, the daughter of Richard Chambers, who came up with the idea for the 1971 law. "The marketplace has changed over 35 years. The bottle bill has not."

The committee began hearings on Senate Bill 481, sponsored by Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, and Sen. Joanne Verger, D-Coos Bay. Berger will present details of her own bill on Feb. 27.

The Courtney-Verger bill would increase the required deposit to 10 cents and extend it to containers for all consumable liquids -- including juices, sports drinks, teas, water and wine, but excluding milk and medicine.

It also would set up a system of California-style redemption centers, which would replace most retailers' roles in collecting empties.

The committee also heard highlights of a report, which the Department of Environmental Quality released last week, that said Oregon's recycling rate for rigid plastics fell below 25 percent for the first time in more than a decade.

Courtney and House Speaker Jeff Merkley, D-Portland, signaled by their appearances before the committee Tuesday that they consider a new bottle bill a priority.

"It's time to restore the luster of Oregon's bottle bill as a national model," Merkley said.

"I think it's part of being an Oregonian to return your own bottles and cans," Courtney said.

Referring to Oregon's status as the first state with a deposit law and one of just two states with a ban on self-service gasoline, he added: "Oregon wants to be the first or the only -- either the first state to do something or the only state not to do it."

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