Committee hears omnibus bill to update Oregon Bottle Bill; proposal includes Portland-specific access centers and expanded bag drop program

The Senate Committee on Energy and Environment on Feb. 17 held a public hearing on Senate Bill 992 and a proposed -1 amendment that would combine several bottle-bill-related reforms into a single package.

The amendment would authorize the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission to approve one or more "alternative access redemption centers"—designed to serve daily or near-daily redeemers—modify convenience-zone review procedures, permit certain dealer bag-drop models and create a process to collapse convenience-zone rings into a single "low-impact" convenience zone in areas where outer-ring individual-container returns are minimal. The amendment also contains provisions to allow wineries that sell wine in cans at tasting rooms to limit redemptions to the container types they sell and updates statutory redemption hours to 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. for certain operations.

Proponents framed the package as a mix of a targeted downtown Portland solution and statewide modernization. Amanda Dalton and Sean Miller of the Northwest Grocery Retail Association described sections designed to partner with nonprofits such as the People's Depot to serve daily redeemers in downtown Portland and to provide predictable funding for alternative centers: "It also provides a unique benefit to the People's Depot in terms of a steady budget, allows them to grow, hopefully allows them to find a brick and mortar location," Dalton said.

Devin Morales of the Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative (OBRC) presented return-volume data that the coalition used to design the "low impact" convenience-zone trigger: the amendment would allow collapsing zone 1 and 2 where outer-ring returns are below a 3% threshold of the corresponding redemption center's volume, and where a facility has operated for at least three years (with petition options). Morales said the measure aims to shift more redemptions into green/blue bag drop locations and that OBRC is investing in smart-counting technology and outreach to speed account credits for bag returns.

Industry groups, small retailers and the People's Depot testified. Chris Brown of the People's Depot described how his organization's current downtown operation could be adapted to a brick-and-mortar or mobile model and said tables at the depot process thousands of containers during operating periods. Wine-industry witnesses asked for a clarification added to the amendment so wineries that sell canned wine out of tasting rooms need only accept returns for the cans they produce and sell; proponents said the provision mirrors existing treatment for breweries.

Committee members questioned whether smaller convenience-store operators were adequately consulted; proponents said they had met with convenience-store representatives and planned ongoing monitoring and a small working group with the City of Portland, OLCC and OBRC. Several witnesses said the bill would reduce pressure on small stores by increasing bag-drop options, limiting per-person container return requirements inside convenience zones and by changing hours to reduce late-night returns.

The committee closed the public hearing; no vote was taken during this session.