[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6366544,"mediaKeyId","2159459-727a8454ca6fd9a8f8ae4646e62202f4","parentId",2159459,"title","People’s Depot: canner-run redemption site says it provides jobs, services and high-volume returns","audioSeconds",420,"startMs",4695000,"endMs",5115000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2159459-727a8454ca6fd9a8f8ae4646e62202f4&start=4695&end=5115","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2159459-727a8454ca6fd9a8f8ae4646e62202f4/thumbnail_4695000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6366544/Oregon/Peoples-Depot-canner-run-redemption-site-says-it-provides-jobs-services-and-high-volume-returns","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6366544-ce91d3b546d0426623eb29313a66b2e5/orig.mp4?Expires=1770654284&Signature=dnCQA1rzqcGEHbvA0b~npmdmNrSblo3sB67PeBT9PZgdHkG17M1pt-hHmXP4j-BAqQjLDDFuOnhIvhKndZdChdT7i4Wvb8G~bK51gsbHalQ4uN~nxO-MyWWZMsX4bPqfQQDZ6AeGm8N1Cd-gPubtWwhj8SdEkzLbjQZOXdj4krbcakxd0U6apy-UhOf2Qk4RZvC1dYNU-Dqa0fMBnYoEphoaSXdXlVa3N9IyOzLbPg0rrAMUOOh~As5-Sonn8-sUuJ32lrvQtu-7PIWD1ot9m1NGWr6nTGTNbvmvpVFL~Fn8sxk2zadxzLLV8Xf1pwObbnRY009joJLUlDyhTOjQdw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Oregon State Legislature","date","2025-01-27T00:00:00Z","article","“The People's Depot is a bottle redemption site run by and for canners,” Taylor Cass Talbot, co-director of Ground Score Association, told the committee during an informational hearing Jan. 27. The depot provides cash payments, job pathways and supportive services for people who collect cans and bottles for income.

Why it matters: retailers and advocates agreed the depot fills a gap where retail returns create safety and service strains, especially in downtown Portland. Committee members and retailers discussed whether formal recognition and funding could expand the depot’s hours and capacity so it can absorb more evening and overnight returns.

What the depot does: Talbot said the depot is staffed by former canners and currently employs about 10 payroll workers with benefits who previously lacked ID, bank accounts and stable addresses. Testimony said the depot served about 7.5 million containers in 2023 and 9.5 million in the most recent year; Talbot also said the depot can serve about one person per minute and that some customers redeem up to about 500 containers per day.

Who uses it: the depot reported preliminary survey results (small sample) showing roughly 75% of customers are unhoused and that more than half have no alternative source of income. Talbot said about 67% of depot customers report a mental or physical disability and that many use proceeds for essentials such as medication and toiletries.

Constraints and goals: the depot currently operates with limited, funded hours (testimony referenced an operating window of roughly two hours to two-and-a-half hours per weekday in current funding), and its site is exposed under a bridge. Talbot urged a permanent indoor site with walls, expanded hours and the ability to add mobile services; she said expanded capacity would allow the depot to focus services to canners and stabilize operations.

Next steps: retailers and city partners have been meeting with the depot and OBRC to explore co-funding a permanent downtown location and a formal alternative-access designation in statute. Committee members asked for more data on user economics and impacts on houseless people; Talbot said the depot is expanding customer surveys with OBRC support.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Senate Committee On Energy and Environment 01/27/2025","oneSentenceSummary","The People's Depot, managed by Ground Score Association, described its canner-first model, employment training, the number of containers it processes and limits on hours and space; presenters and retailers said a permanent depot could relieve downtown retail pressure if scaled and funded.","taxTitle","Energy and Environment, Senate, Committees, Legislative, Oregon","taxId",17629,"location","Oregon","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6366549,"Grocers push bill to expand bag-drop access and formalize People’s Depot as alternative redemption center",457,3117000,3574000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2159459-727a8454ca6fd9a8f8ae4646e62202f4&start=3117&end=3574","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2159459-727a8454ca6fd9a8f8ae4646e62202f4/thumbnail_3117000.jpg","/articles/6366549/Oregon/Grocers-push-bill-to-expand-bag-drop-access-and-formalize-Peoples-Depot-as-alternative-redemption-center","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6366549-1591d19dd2bf07ea804d431c5f5715d9/orig.mp4?Expires=1770654284&Signature=nqc~f~0jVAoUtndwZnmq0sYWzC1JNpbp3SVXA7f86sv5kC9wJT~koPUGsfA72cs7~vOmzhMcjDwPpHd9sgnc9rdZlTBR4SC6dtwT9JG-pY~rKe-27AfM5r738WDJd0B9m9OG1iGdtySKzAyxqQr9QfNyd9wf9Ivt0LbfMFinFxvAMyLEA3CIuBXawXBkukPttRWb9Jv5mBleAarD7nvC1SmLUCFq-3QZ5vGCuRPGEFt3t6dLTHcMdzjo5cZahAoZU3v6sKxTg3nTs6st-CcRk-nnIMqBH9FJLuRttfgAPt7xcksjacYwf4QTeU~dqXEekgxN2vgymH~uAkfdK8nKaw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Amanda Dalton, president of the Northwest Grocery Retail Association, told the committee that retailers “contribute an average of $34,000,000 a year into operations around the bottle system,” a figure the association said covers labor, capital and site costs for in-store returns and dealer redemption centers. Members are sponsoring House Bill 2068 to change convenience-zone geography, incent more bag-drop locations and create an alternative access path for community-run depots.

The Nut Graf: Retailers say modernizations would increase convenience, reduce in-store handling of containers and improve employee safety; small-format retailers and downtown convenience stores said the changes must protect overnight access and not concentrate returns where safety or hours are limited.

What retailers propose: HB 2068 (as described to the committee) would authorize an “alternative access redemption center” status for qualified community depots, expand incentives for bag-drop (dealer redemption) sites, allow the OLCC to adopt narrowly prescribed temporary shutdown authority for safety or emergency cleaning, and propose collapsing Oregon’s two statutory convenience zones into a single zone in many areas based on updated data. Sean Miller of the Northwest Grocery Retail Association said the group concluded “we can take 22 out of the 27 redemption centers, collapse those 2 convenience zones into 1 and it would be a very low impact.”

Why downtown Portland matters: Amanda Dalton and Sean Miller described a large gap in downtown convenience-zone coverage and said retailers have borne heavy return workloads there. Jonathan Polonsky, CEO of Plaid Pantry and chair of the Oregon Stores Association, emphasized the downtown, late-night use pattern: many small-format stores serve as the only 24/7 return points and “in Downtown Portland, that's pretty tough to enforce, and it's pretty tough to ask somebody, 1 of my associates at 3 in the morning to enforce that, on somebody.” Polonsky said he supports expanded alternative access generally but asked for protections specific to downtown Portland so safety and access for customers who rely on late-night returns are preserved.

People's Depot as partner: Retailers told the committee they have been working with the People's Depot (a community-run site) and city partners to identify a permanent downtown location and to make the depot a formally recognized alternative access point. Amanda Dalton said the People's Depot is on track to process millions of containers and retailers and OBRC could co-fund a depot operation to relieve retail pressure.

Points of disagreement and unresolved details: grocers urged that wine containers remain under the Recycling Modernization Act (Senate Bill 582) rather than be added to the bottle bill, citing a projected 77,000,000 containers and system capacity concerns. Retailers and community partners differed on siting, hours and whether alternative centers can absorb overnight volumes if large grocers reduce in-store returns. No formal vote was taken.","Grocers and small-format retailers outlined House Bill 2068, a package to incentivize bag-drop sites, collapse some convenience zones, and create an alternative redemption-center status; downtown Portland retailers warned of safety and service gaps if large grocers stop in-store returns without matched downtown capacity.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6366553,"OLCC and OBRC detail Oregon bottle bill operations and back an hours-limit bill",2291,73000,2364000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2159459-727a8454ca6fd9a8f8ae4646e62202f4&start=73&end=2364","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2159459-727a8454ca6fd9a8f8ae4646e62202f4/thumbnail_73000.jpg","/articles/6366553/Oregon/OLCC-and-OBRC-detail-Oregon-bottle-bill-operations-and-back-an-hours-limit-bill","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6366553-f6c3c13d16e6c7a5f4cb381f79ebcd65/orig.mp4?Expires=1770654284&Signature=CEpUgO1M2ykbLaEsro2e5MYWk0S9sY1IBEw2dIJ1USub5Fq96ldGH73dvRiIY03e8lbdoojqjQw6Aqe~fBjWXdzp5rPzLjTGedI80RqKoSt2~A3mOql1wX9H095DMH-rD4DapcqZnLwf9~7VnzwpvBqU0G25kToujdtBddCXWf0pfy7U~usACzPIr9yzoZ0pOuvhNSON6D0irBGxcni9-OgIlpr65xukUOcr-JgokJ81u1N-KsCx9eO69iX5uLQsFJQl2BODgn~8DPqH2XPQfrOv4teetWNfS8Z0a8Y8SbA3qJxLFdNn3RlBaR3Ux0PIGGeCcjk8UmxLZCERMHKuGw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","For the record, my name is Craig Prince, the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission’s bottle-bill lead, told the Senate Energy and Environment Committee that “the takeaway is OLCC is the agency that administers the bottle bill.” The informal informational hearing on Jan. 27 included a system overview from OLCC and the Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative (OBRC).

The bottle bill began in 1971 to reduce roadside and beach litter and now returns roughly 2,000,000,000 containers a year, OBRC said. The state’s redemption rate was reported at 87.3% in 2023, the highest among bottle-bill states in recent data presented to the committee. Devon Morales, vice president of external affairs for OBRC, said, “Oregon's redemption model is globally touted as best in class because of our nation leading redemption rates.”

Why it matters: lawmakers are weighing bills this session that would change how and when retailers must accept returns and how alternative redemption sites are recognized. OLCC’s agency concept, introduced by Craig Prince as Senate Bill 869, would allow retailers required to accept returns to refuse containers outside designated hours; Prince summarized the agency proposal as requiring acceptance only from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

How the system works: OBRC operates a network that now includes 27 full-service redemption centers, 73 bag-drop partner locations and roughly 2,100 retail stores across Oregon. OBRC said about 80% of redemptions in recent years flow through the BottleDrop network (full-service centers plus bag-drop sites), a shift from 2010 when most returns were at retail stores. OBRC also described backend processing: five regional processing plants, local end markets for PET (Orpet, St. Helens) and glass (Glass2Glass, Portland with remelting by Owens-Illinois), and domestic processing for aluminum.

Technology and programs: OBRC described patented AI “SmartCount” software and conveyor systems that speed bulk-bag processing about four times compared with older methods and front-of-house “stream count” equipment that can identify and count a 350-container batch in under two minutes. OBRC also highlighted consumer programs: BottleDrop Plus (a 20% incentive for users that returned about 220,000 participants in 2023), a BottleDrop–Oregon College Savings Plan connection (about $500,000 transferred into OCSP in 2023), and the Blue Bag nonprofit program, which OBRC said raised about $5.55 million in 2024 preliminary data and about $33 million all time for participating nonprofits.

System stresses and responses: presenters told the committee the rapid growth of bag returns and the pandemic-era shift strained processing capacity and prompted innovations. Prince described temporary exceptions made in downtown Portland to relieve safety concerns at two retailers during a fentanyl-related public-safety response. Morales and Prince also identified past issues such as out-of-state/large-scale fraud noted in a 2020 Secretary of State audit and said enforcement and training remain part of OLCC’s role.

Legislative context: speakers referenced recent and pending actions. Morales and Prince discussed 2021 and 2022 bills that adjusted reporting and phased-in responsibilities for distributors and said those acts bring canned wine into the program later this year. Prince said OLCC will pursue an agency bill, identified on the record as Senate Bill 869, to codify hours-of-acceptance limits. The recyclers’ modernization law (Senate Bill 582) and other statutes (transcribed as ORS 459A in committee materials) were cited during the hearing.

What’s next: OLCC said it will meet with legislators individually as the session proceeds; OBRC said it plans public engagement, multilingual communications in redemption centers, targeted expansion of the bottle-drop network in 2025 and ongoing efficiency investments. No formal committee action or vote occurred at the informational hearing.","State liquor regulators and the Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative described how Oregon’s bottle bill operates, highlighted high redemption rates and new technologies, and said the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission’s agency bill would let retailers refuse returns outside specified hours.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

People’s Depot: canner-run redemption site says it provides jobs, services and high-volume returns

Grocers push bill to expand bag-drop access and formalize People’s Depot as alternative redemption center

OLCC and OBRC detail Oregon bottle bill operations and back an hours-limit bill