Oregon Bottle Bill to increase to 10 cents starting Saturday

For decades, recyclers have received 5 cents for returning empty cans and bottles. Starting Saturday, that increases to a dime.

Have some old soft drink cans lying around waiting to get recycled? Starting Saturday, those cans will be worth a little bit more.

The state is increasing the redemption value of eligible beverage containers covered by the Oregon Bottle Bill starting April 1. Bottles returned after that date will be worth 10 cents, up from the decades-old redemption rate of 5 cents.

According to the Oregon Liquor Control Commission, which regulates the bottle bill, the increase is aimed at getting more people to return empty cans and bottles. Oregonians once flocked to return cans and bottles at grocery stores, but the state has seen a steady decline in returns over the last several years.

According to the OLCC, only about 64.5 percent of consumers returned their empty bottles and cans to the state in 2015, lower than the 68.26 percent rate documented in 2014.

Under state law, if the return rate for beverage containers falls below 80 percent for two years in a row, the redemption value of those containers must increase to 10 cents per container.

The Oregon Liquor Control Commission announced the change back in July. The state has seen fewer and fewer people returning the bottles and cans over the last several years, though it still doubles the national average.

Eligible containers include water bottles, carbonated soft drinks beer and malt beverages. Starting Jan. 1, 2018, the bill will include tea, coffee, hard cider, fruit juice, kombucha and coconut water containers.

Oregon was the first state in the country to pass a bottle bill in 1971. The bill requires customers to pay 5-cent deposits on soda cans and bottles, which they can reclaim when they recycle the cans with the state, instead of throwing them away.

Only 10 states and Guam have bottle bills. Oregon will become the second state with a 10-cent deposit for all bottles and cans, joining Michigan. Most other states have a 5-cent deposit, through Maine and Vermont have 15-cent deposits for liquor bottles.