Internewscast Journal
  • Home
  • US News
  • Local News
  • Health
  • People
  • Guest Post
  • Support Our Cause
Internewscast Journal
  • Home
  • US News
  • Local News
  • Health
  • People
  • Guest Post
  • Support Our Cause
Home Local news Oregon’s Iconic Bottle Deposit Law Faces Possible Changes Amid Drug and Homelessness Concerns
  • Local news

Oregon’s Iconic Bottle Deposit Law Faces Possible Changes Amid Drug and Homelessness Concerns

    Oregon's landmark bottle redemption law may change due to concerns over drugs and homelessness
    Up next
    Use This Peacock Deal Hack to Watch Eurovision 2025 Final and Save
    Discover This Trick to Stream the Eurovision 2025 Final on Peacock and Save Money
    Published on 17 May 2025
    Author
    Internewscast
    Tags
    • and,
    • bottle,
    • Change,
    • Chris Grass,
    • Climate,
    • concerns,
    • drugs,
    • due,
    • Environment,
    • homelessness,
    • Kristofer Brown,
    • landmark,
    • law,
    • MAY,
    • Oregon039s,
    • over,
    • Politics,
    • redemption,
    • Tom McCall,
    • U.S. news
    Share this @internewscast.com
    FacebookXRedditPinterest

    PORTLAND, Ore. – Monica Truax has resided in her Portland home since 1992, on a cul-de-sac she describes as a tight-knit neighborhood. However, since a bottle redemption center opened nearby a few years ago, her street has experienced issues with drug activities, litter, and late-night altercations, she mentioned.

    “Everything has completely transformed,” she noted. “Yet the residents remain, everyone is still here, continuing to raise their families.”

    After over fifty years, Oregon’s pioneering “bottle bill” — which has been emulated by nine other states — is facing a potential revision. Lawmakers are considering implementing new operational hours for bottle redemption centers, as some believe these locations have attracted issues related to drugs and homelessness.

    The trailblazing law to reduce littering by incentivizing recycling helped cement the state’s reputation as a leader in the emerging environmental movement. It has also become a financial security net for many, including those experiencing homelessness.

    The legislation echoes calls to modernize the bottle bill, with some saying changes are needed to address unintended consequences.

    “He did not envision this,” Truax said of former Oregon Gov. Tom McCall, who signed the bottle bill into law. “It’s just a mess.”

    How does the bottle bill work?

    Consumers originally paid a 5-cent deposit on each eligible bottle or can, then collected the deposit when they redeemed the empty container at a retailer, such as a supermarket or convenience store.

    Over the years, the program has expanded accepted containers and increased the deposit to 10 cents. Twenty-seven centers exclusively for returns have been opened across the state.

    California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Vermont and the U.S. territory of Guam followed Oregon in adopting the concept, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

    In Oregon, people can sign up for accounts in which their refunds are deposited or choose cash redemptions. Some stores count containers by hand. Other sites have counting machines or areas where account holders can drop off bags of containers.

    The deposit has not kept pace with inflation — 5 cents in 1971 would be equal to 40 cents today, according to the Consumer Price Index’s inflation calculator — but many low-income residents rely on it.

    Why are critics upset?

    Stores must accept container returns when they are open, and owners of all-night convenience stores, particularly in Portland, say they’re concerned about employee safety.

    In an op-ed for The Oregonian/OregonLive last year, Jonathan Polonsky, president and CEO of the Plaid Pantry chain of convenience stores, wrote that fentanyl was selling for less than $1 a pill and “a small number of cans add up to enough to buy drugs.”

    People redeeming containers at night “may be belligerent and intimidating, presenting a major safety risk to our store associates who have no choice under Oregon’s Bottle Bill to handle returns at that hour,” he wrote.

    Truax, who lives with her husband in northeast Portland, said homeless encampments and people relieving themselves in public were among the many things she had witnessed on her block.

    “I’ve seen it all,” she said, describing the scourge of fentanyl as “the cherry on the sundae.”

    “It’s just sad,” she added.

    Environmentally friendly income source

    At the bottle redemption center near Truax’s home, Chris Grass waited with his father and girlfriend in the long line outside the door. They each redeemed the maximum amount of 350 containers per person per day for $105 in cash to help pay for gas and provide some extra money for things like cigarettes and coffee while he’s unemployed, he said.

    “A lot of people don’t like people that go out and can,” he said. “But it’s actually good for the environment.”

    In 2023, roughly 87% of eligible containers were returned for redemption, according to the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission. That was the highest rate in the nation that year, according to the Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative, which operates the bottle bill program on behalf of its distributor members.

    What would the legislation do?

    The bill being considered by lawmakers would allow stores across the state to refuse container returns after 8 p.m.

    In Portland, it would allow for “alternative” redemption sites, including possible mobile sites such as trucks that travel to different neighborhoods. Nonprofits would run the alternative sites for people who redeem containers every day, relieving the pressure on retailers, particularly downtown.

    Stores in an area with an alternative drop site could limit or refuse hand-counted returns, with convenience stores specifically allowed to stop them at 6 p.m.

    The proposal is supported by retailers as well as groups like the Ground Score Association, whose members include “canners” and waste pickers who collect containers for income. The association operates a Portland redemption center under a bridge called The People’s Depot that processes some 38,000 containers daily, according to its website.

    It has pushed back against claims that the bottle bill fuels the fentanyl crisis and says most people redeeming bottles need the money to make ends meet.

    “Since becoming manager of The People’s Depot, I’m learning how polarizing The Oregon Bottle Bill is,” the depot’s operational manager Kristofer Brown said in written testimony supporting the bill.

    Do the proposed changes go far enough?

    Unlike in some other states, Oregon’s bottle bill program is run by the private beverage industry rather than state government. The Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative retains unredeemed deposits, which topped $30 million in 2019, according to a 2020 state audit of the bottle bill.

    The audit recommended several changes, including having some or all unredeemed deposits go to the state to help fund environmental programs.

    Consolidated Oregon Indivisible Network, a progressive advocacy group, said in written testimony supporting the bill that “money is piling up in the bottle deposit fund” and called for another government audit.

    The OBRC says unredeemed refunds go toward operating expenses for the beverage container redemption system.

    The Legislature has until late June to approve the bill, which received overwhelming approval in the Senate and is now in the House.

    Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

    Share this @internewscast.com
    FacebookXRedditPinterest
    You May Also Like
    At 100, this globetrotting Catholic priest still bakes pies, enjoys opera and performs daily Mass
    • Local news

    At 100 Years Old, This World-Traveling Catholic Priest Continues to Bake Pies, Enjoy Opera, and Hold Daily Mass

    BLUE BELL, Pa. – Over his incredible lifetime, Rev. James Kelly has…
    • Internewscast
    • June 28, 2025
    Collins, Hawley — two key holdouts — will support advancing GOP megabill
    • Local news

    Collins and Hawley — two crucial holdouts — agree to back the GOP megabill’s progress

    Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), two key holdouts, said…
    • Internewscast
    • June 28, 2025
    Supreme Court limits national injunctions in birthright citizenship case
    • Local news

    Supreme Court Restricts Nationwide Injunctions in Birthright Citizenship Ruling

    WASHINGTON () The U.S. Supreme Court has granted President Donald Trump’s request…
    • Internewscast
    • June 28, 2025
    New execution methods may soon come to Florida. Here’s why
    • Local news

    Florida Could Introduce New Execution Methods: Here’s What You Need to Know

    TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Starting next month, Florida will officially have the option…
    • Internewscast
    • June 28, 2025
    Woman awarded nearly $1M in court after slipping on ice at Fort Wayne Panera
    • Local news

    Woman Receives Almost $1 Million in Damages After Slipping on Ice at Fort Wayne Panera

    FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) — An Allen County jury awarded a woman…
    • Internewscast
    • June 28, 2025
    US soldier's son, born on Army base in Germany, is deported to Jamaica
    • Local news

    Child of American Soldier, Born on German Army Base, Deported to Jamaica

    (KTLA) A man born to an active-duty member of the United States…
    • Internewscast
    • June 28, 2025
    Environmental groups sue to block 'Alligator Alcatraz'
    • Local news

    Environmental Groups File Lawsuit to Halt ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Project

    A coalition of environmental groups on Friday sued over Trump administration plans…
    • Internewscast
    • June 28, 2025
    6 Americans detained in South Korea for trying to send rice and Bibles to North Korea by sea
    • Local news

    Six Americans Arrested in South Korea for Attempting to Deliver Rice and Bibles to North Korea by Sea

    SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Six U.S. citizens were taken into custody…
    • Internewscast
    • June 28, 2025
    Brazil strikes deal with Musk's Starlink to curb criminal use in the Amazon rainforest
    • Local news

    Brazil partners with Musk’s Starlink to combat crime in the Amazon rainforest

    BRASILIA – Brazil’s Federal Prosecutor’s Office revealed a new agreement with Elon…
    • Internewscast
    • June 27, 2025
    St. Joseph's Hospital celebrates 150 years serving Savannah
    • Local news

    Celebrating 150 Years: St. Joseph’s Hospital’s Legacy in Savannah

    SAVANNAH, Ga. () — St. Joseph’s Hospital celebrated a major milestone Friday…
    • Internewscast
    • June 28, 2025
    New group aims to protect, celebrate Nolichucky River
    • Local news

    New organization dedicated to preserving and honoring the Nolichucky River

    The newly-formed Nolichucky Watershed Alliance in UNICOI COUNTY, Tenn. (WJHL) is taking…
    • Internewscast
    • June 27, 2025
    Flesh-eating screwworms can boost high beef prices: Texas A&M Expert
    • Local news

    Texas A&M Expert Links Flesh-Eating Screwworms to Rising Beef Prices

    AUSTIN (KXAN) Though roughly 700 miles from the Texas border, the New…
    • Internewscast
    • June 27, 2025
    Man in suit outside the Internet Watch Foundation.
    • US

    Ministers alert: Online child sexual abuse poised to become the next major grooming crisis

    ONLINE child sexual abuse could be “the next grooming crisis”, experts warn…
    • Internewscast
    • June 28, 2025
    When Is ‘F1 The Movie’ Streaming On Apple TV+? Here’s The Likely Release Timeline
    • Business

    What is the Expected Release Date for ‘F1 The Movie’ on Apple TV+? Here’s What We Anticipate

    F1 The Movie © 2024 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.…
    • Internewscast
    • June 28, 2025
    What to know before jury begins deliberating in Sean 'Diddy' Combs' trial
    • US

    Key Information to Understand Before Jury Deliberations in Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ Trial Begin

    A federal judge in New York City is expected to instruct jurors…
    • Internewscast
    • June 28, 2025
    SoftBank CEO says he wanted to be OpenAI early investor
    • Asia

    SoftBank’s CEO Reveals Desire to Invest in OpenAI During Its Early Stages

    Masayoshi Son, chairman and chief executive officer of SoftBank Group Corp., speaks…
    • Internewscast
    • June 28, 2025
    Internewscast Journal
    • Home
    • Privacy Policy
    • DMCA Notice
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Guest Post
    • Support Our Cause
    Copyright 2023. All Right Reserverd.