By NIGEL JAQUISS/Oregon Journalism Project
The Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission on Friday ratified changes to the Bottle Bill enacted by Senate Bill 992, which Gov. Tina Kotek signed into law earlier in the week.
The legislation, aimed at quelling pushback against the Bottle Bill, came in response to concerns from grocers, convenience stores and Oregonians who live or work near places where people return empty containers.
Some of the changes are statewide — retailers will now only have to accept returns between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., instead of all hours they are open, for instance. And as of July 1, canned wine, cider over 8.5 percent alcohol by volume, sake and mead containers are subject to deposit and redemption statewide.
But much of the new law is aimed at Portland. The relevant sections apply to “a city having a population greater than 500,000,” of which there is only one in Oregon.
SB 992 seeks to take some of the pressure off a system that saw the return of more than 2 billion containers last year but generated criticism because of some of the negative side effects associated with those returns.
In response to those concerns, lawmakers greenlighted the creation of what SB 992 calls an “alternative access redemption center” in central Portland.
What that actually means is the state and the Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative, which manages Bottle Bill returns, are nodding to the reality that Portland’s central city might be best served by an expansion of The People’s Depot, a nonprofit DIY recycling center currently operating under the east end of the Morrison Bridge.
OBRC operates two massive redemption centers in Portland, one at Northeast 122nd Avenue and Glisan Street and one at Hayden Meadows in north Portland, but canners and people returning their empties in the central city through OBRC’s green bag program deliver their containers to grocery and convenience stores. That has created conflict and unhappiness for store operators and neighbors. SB 992 will allow the expansion of The People’s Depot, including the location of a permanent site yet to be determined.
SB 992 allows grocery stores close to the new alternative recycling center to opt out of redemptions other than accepting bulk returns through OBRC’s automated green bag program; shortens the hours that nearby convenience stores of less than 5,000 square feet must accept returns to 8 am to 6 pm (rather than the 8 am to 8 pm allowed in the rest of the state); and limits the number of containers those convenience stores must accept to 24 per person per day.
The new changes show a flexibility on the part of lawmakers and Kotek to make changes to the Bottle Bill. The OLCC, which regulates container recycling, will now incorporate the new guidelines into temporary rules between now and Dec. 2, when the agency must formalize permanent rules.
“With today’s significant changes, we will ensure that our pioneering system will continue to serve communities across our state for years to come,” OLCC chairman Dennis Doherty said at the commission’s special June 5 meeting.
Comment Policy