Page 6 The Skanner Portland & Seattle May 21, 2025
News
Oregon Lawmakers OK Changes to Landmark Bottle Redemption Law Amid
Concerns Over Homelessness, Drugs
By CLAIRE RUSH
Associated Press
O
regon lawmakers
approved chang-
es to the state’s
landmark
bot-
tle redemption law on
Wednesday,
allowing
redemption sites that
some say have become
magnets for drugs and
homelessness to refuse
returns of empty bever-
age containers during
nighttime hours.
The trailblazing law
to reduce littering by
incentivizing recycling
helped cement the state’s
reputation as a leader in
the emerging environ-
mental movement. It has
also become a financial
security net for many, in-
cluding those experienc-
ing homelessness.
The legislation was
drafted in response to
concerns that the na-
tion’s first “bottle bill,”
signed into law in 1971,
needed an update to ad-
dress its interplay with
the dual fentanyl addic-
tion and homelessness
crises in Oregon.
“This bill is responsive
to concerns from retail-
ers both large and small,
as well as some of our
constituents,” said Dem-
ocratic state Rep. Mark
Gamba, who carried the
bill on the House floor,
adding that it would
“help to create a balance
in our redemption sys-
tem while maintaining
the program we all seek
to protect.”
The bill passed the
state House with broad
bipartisan support, 48-4.
It previously passed the
state Senate 28-1.
Democratic state Rep.
Pam Marsh, who was
among the four repre-
sentatives to vote against
the bill, had previously
voiced her opposition
during a committee
hearing last week.
Marsh said she worries
the bill will undermine
access to bottle and can
redemption sites for peo-
ple “who need to turn in
cans and bottles for im-
mediate return because
they actually need those
dimes and those quarters
to buy dinner, to help pay
rent, to take care of basic
life needs.”
Consumers currently
pay a 10-cent deposit on
eligible beverage cans
and bottles. They get
that deposit back when
returning them at stores
or redemption centers,
which can hand count
containers or provide
counting machines and
drop-off areas. People
can sign up for accounts
in which their refunds
are deposited or choose
cash redemptions.
The state’s bottle drop
program had over a mil-
lion account holders last
year, according to the
Oregon Beverage Recy-
cling Cooperative, which
operates the program on
behalf of its distributor
members.
“From its inception,
Oregon’s Bottle Bill has
helped protect Oregon’s
ocean, beaches, road-
sides and special places,”
the cooperative said in
its 2024 annual report,
adding that hundreds of
thousands of residents
used redemptions “to
save for college or dis-
ability support and to
save on groceries.”
In recent years, how-
“
It has also
become a
financial
security
net for
many, in-
cluding
those ex-
periencing
homeless-
ness.
ever, some residents and
store owners, particu-
larly in Portland, have
become frustrated with
redemptions and what
they describe as negative
impacts on their neigh-
Portland’s Juneteenth
Gospel Music Workshop
Portland’s Juneteenth Gospel Music Workshop and concert led
by Dr. JerMichael Riley, lead vocalist of the world renowned and
Grammy/Stellar award-winning Mississippi Mass Choir.
June 11-13, 6:30 - 9:00PM nightly
June 14th 11AM - 2PM
Followed with the climaxing concert June 15, 2025 at 6PM,
at Alberta Abby, 126 NE Alberta St., Portland.
To register, email passinart@yahoo.com
or call 503-235-8079
Used beverage containers are seen in a bag outside the Glisan BottleDrop Redemption Center on Thursday,
May 15, 2025, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)
borhoods and business
operations.
Currently, stores must
accept container returns
when they are open, and
owners of all-night con-
venience stores, partic-
ularly in Portland, have
expressed
concerns
about employee safe-
ty. The bill passed by
lawmakers Wednesday
would allow stores to
across the state to refuse
container returns after 8
p.m.
In Portland, the bill
would allow for alterna-
tive redemption sites, in-
cluding possible mobile
sites such as trucks that
travel to different neigh-
borhoods.
Nonprofits
would run the alterna-
tive sites for people who
redeem containers every
day, relieving the pres-
sure on retailers, partic-
ularly downtown.
Stores in an area with
an alternative drop site
could limit or refuse
hand-counted returns,
with convenience stores
specifically allowed to
stop them at 6 p.m.
The proposal was sup-
ported by retailers and
associations whose mem-
bers include “canners”
and waste pickers who
collect containers for in-
come.
In 2023, roughly 87%
of eligible containers
were returned for re-
demption, according to
the Oregon Liquor and
Cannabis Commission.
That was the highest rate
in the nation that year,
according to the Oregon
Beverage Recycling Co-
operative.
Members of Congress Rally Around
Black Congresswoman Charged by
Trump’s ICE Officers
By Lauren Burke
A
t a large press
conference on the
House side of the
U.S. Capitol, mem-
bers of Congress rallied
around Congresswom-
an LaMonica McIver
(D-NJ). The members
represented the diverse
“tri-caucus” made up of
many of the members of
the Congressional Black
Caucus, the Congressio-
nal Hispanic Caucus, and
the Congressional Wom-
en’s Caucus. The three
groups represent over
half of the Democratic
Caucus in the U.S. House.
Though McIver was
not present at the press
event, she was on Capitol
Hill attending meetings
and House votes. She is
also expected to be on
national television on
the evening of May 20.
Yesterday, the New Jer-
sey Congresswoman was
charged with “imped-
ing” and “assaulting” law
enforcement outside of
Delaney Hall Immigra-
tion Detention Center
in Newark, New Jersey
on May 9. The confron-
tation occurred after
the arrest of Newark
Mayor Ras Baraka but
last night the acting U.S.
Attorney for the District
of New Jersey, Alina Hab-
ba announced that the
charges against Mayor
Baraka were dropped.
Rep. McIver was charged
on the same day that the
Trump Administration,
through the Department
of Justice, announced
an agreement to pay the
family of Ashley Babbitt
$5 million. Babbitt was
shot dead by a member
of the U.S. Capitol Police
as she attempted to enter
the floor of the U.S. House
during the violent attack
on the U.S. Capitol on Jan-
uary 6, 2021. The charges
against Rep. McIver also
fell on the same day as
what would have been
the 100th birthday of
Malcolm X.
After three months of
witnessing the Trump
Administration arrest
and deport individuals
to a prison in El Salvador
with no hearing before-
hand and pressure law
firms to complete work
pro bono, members of
Congress at the event in
support of Rep. McIver
appeared to have recent
history front of mind.
“We know exactly why
we’re here today. That’s
because the President of
the United States has wea-
ponized his Department
of Justice in an attempt to
make a young congress-
woman from New Jersey
the focal point of his ef-
forts to intimidate Con-
gress into submission,”
said Rep. Yvette Clarke
(D-NY), the Chairwom-
an of the Congressional
Black Caucus during
the crowded press event
near the steps of the U.S.
Capitol. “Let me be over-
whelmingly clear. Con-
gresswoman McIver has
the full and unwavering
support of the Congres-
sional Black Caucus. Pe-
riod,” Clarke added. Rep.
McIver, 38, entered Con-
gress in September 2024
after winning a special
election after the death
of Congressman Donald
Payne, Jr. “I’m standing
here at a time that should
make all of us as Ameri-
cans truly afraid,” said
New Jersey Democrat
Cory Booker.
Senator Booker shook
hands and greeted New
Jersey colleagues U.S.
Representatives.
Read more at
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