US EditionOregon's landmark bottle redemption law may change due to concerns over drugs and homelessness
- Oregon lawmakers are considering a bill to restrict bottle returns after 8 p.m. Across the state, with alternative redemption sites in Portland.
- The bill responds to concerns that bottle redemption sites attract drug activity and homelessness, issues residents near centers have reported.
- The proposal, backed by retailers and organizations such as the Ground Score Association, would permit convenience stores to end manual container returns starting at 6 p.m.
- A 2020 audit reported that unclaimed deposits surpassed $30 million in 2019, while in 2023, about 87% of containers eligible for redemption were brought back to collection points.
- If approved by June, the bill could alter redemption hours to improve safety and address neighborhood impacts without dismantling Oregon’s longstanding bottle return system.
41 Articles
41 Articles
Oregon weighs curbing late-night bottle returns amid drug and homelessness concerns
Monica Truax has lived in her Portland home since 1992, on a cul-de-sac she described as a close-knit community. But since a bottle redemption center opened next door several years ago, her block has struggled with drug dealing, garbage and fights in the middle of the night, she said.“It’s just all completely changed,” she said. “But the people are all still here, you know, all the residents are here still, and still raising their families.”Afte…
Associated Press News
Oregon's landmark bottle redemption law may change due to concerns over drugs and homelessness
In 1971, Oregon became the first state in the nation to pass a “bottle bill." Consumers currently pay a 10-cent deposit on certain beverage cans and bottles, then get that deposit back when returning them at a store or redemption center.
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