Cash for empties incentivizes recycling

When Oregon enacted the nation’s first bottle bill in 1971, it was intended to reduce litter on beaches, along roads and in parks. It has!

Oregon’s redemption rate on empty bottles and cans is 85% compared to 30% in Washington.

Over the years, the states took vastly different approaches to litter cleanup and recycling. A large part of the Oregon program’s recent success is that lawmakers in Salem doubled the payout to 10-cent a container in 2017.

People, not always Oregonians, turn in their cans and bottles to recycling centers called “BottleDrops” and are paid on the spot. Recyclers paid more than $205 million to people recycling and local non-profits returning more than two billion containers.

Oregon Public Broadcasting’s (OPR) reports Oregon’s redemption rate is the highest in the nation. Compared to the worldwide data where a million plastic bottles are purchased every minute and 90% of empty plastic bottles end up in landfills or in the ocean.

Washington has a broader regulatory approach featuring curbside mixed recycling in which haulers generally include pick up fees with monthly garbage bills. That will change in 2030 when the costs shift to the packaging producers who will start paying the fees

Washington passed The Model Litter Control Act in 1971 which levied a 0.015% tax on food, cigarettes, soft drinks, beer, wine, newspapers, magazines and other items. It was for roadside litter cleanup.

However, over time, Washington has developed recycling programs for items such as newspapers, motor oils, glass bottles, cardboard, metals and batteries.

Over the years, Washington voters have been asked to approve the Oregon Bottle Bill; however, the latest ballot measure by 57% of the vote.

Ten states throughout the U.S. have bottle bills like Oregon. They include California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, and Vermont.

Iowa’s bottle recycling is run by the private sector but regulated by the state. It is operated by for-profit beverage distributors, retailers, and recyclers. Oregon’s system is administered by the Oregon Beverage and Recycling Cooperative, which is a statewide not-for-profit.

Rep. Monica Stonier, D-Vancouver, pushed Oregon’s bottle bill in the legislature over the last couple of years; didn’t have the momentum to pass.

Site locations are a huge hurdle. Oregon closed its Delta Park BottleDrop on July 31 citing legitimate complaints from neighboring businesses prompting store closures from rampant theft, and safety concerns from illegal drug transactions and substance abuse near the site.

Stonier’s legislation also must address the location of collection centers -- grocerystores and shopping centers are not suitable locations. Trash transfer stations where paints, scrap metal and chemicals are collected and disposed, are more appropriate.

Today, the state spends about $12 million every year to clean up more than 26 million pounds of litter along highways and roadways. A refund program incentivizes recycling, reducing the state’s cleanup cost.

Lawmakers need to look at what works in Oregon and Iowa. Paying for recycling is producing results. That might be a way to encourage recycling in Washington.

Cash for empties works. We just need to make sure the unintended consequences, such as collection site location, are addressed up front.

Don C. Brunell is a business analyst, writer and columnist. He can be contacted at theBrunells@msn.com.