The , which oversees the Bottle Bill program, recently released its .
According to OBRC president and CEO Jules Bailey, the program hit another milestone 鈥� the highest redemption rate in the nation. On average Bailey said the redemption rate across the nation is 35%.
鈥淲e had last year, the highest redemption rate in the nation and this year we鈥檝e even gone up from that redemption rate,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e went from 80.6% up to 88.5%.鈥�
is a first-of-its-kind recycling program that was implemented in 1971 to reduce a growing litter problem along Oregon beaches, highways and other public areas. It鈥檚 funded by implementing fees on distributors depending on the bottle and container sold in stores.
The redemption program charges a 10-cent fee when consumers buy a redeemable container which they can get back when they return the empty container to redemption centers or participating stores.
Consumers can open BottleDrop accounts and choose to keep the funds or defer their redemptions to benefit nonprofits and programs like food banks, schools and environmental groups. In 2022, more than 5,000 Oregon nonprofits raised $5.1 million by redeeming bottles and cans.
One of those is the Oregon College Saving Plan. After launching more than three years ago, the program recently announced it reached $1 million saved for higher education through the Bottle Bill program.
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to imagine a million bucks adding up a dime at a time, but it did,鈥� Bailey said.
He said there are three reasons why the program has been so successful: convenience, incentives and 鈥渢he goodwill and the environmental ethic of Oregonians.鈥�
鈥淥regon offers a lot of incentive to return bottles and cans,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e offer a lot of different ways to get your money back.鈥�
Besides the financial incentive, Bailey said most of the recycling happens locally and gets put right back in the state.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very closed loop, and that鈥檚 one of the benefits of having a deposit return system,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t stays mostly here in Oregon or at least in the United States and gets turned right back into the bottles and cans that people are using.鈥�
According to the OBRC report, the returns from 2022 removed more than 50,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide, a fossil fuel that contributes to climate change, by recycling containers rather than sending them to a landfill. That鈥檚 the equivalent of removing more than 11,000 passenger cars from the roads, according to an Environmental Protection Agency .
Since its inception, the program has gone through including water-flavored containers, juices, teas and other noncarbonated beverage containers. Bailey said in 2025, wine cans will be added to that list.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 really next for the deposit system and for BottleDrop is continuing to open more locations, continuing to expand access and then also continuing to make it easier for customers and more transparent,鈥� he said.
Bailey said during the pandemic, BottleDrop redemption centers remained open but some participating stores did suspend the program. He said because of that, redemption rates dropped but still remained around 80%.
Right now, there are 94 drop locations across the state. Bailey said by June the program will have 100 locations open and plan to expand its coverage in The Dalles, Prineville and Ashland.
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