NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
A2
Thursday, November 12, 2020
State audit recommends diverting unclaimed Bottle Bill funds
By MICHAEL KOHN
Bend Bulletin
SALEM — Oregonians
recycle lots of bottles and
cans, but those that are
picked up curbside, or are
just lost, are never redeemed
for their deposit. State audi-
tors now say Oregon has
a chance to collect those
deposits and use the money
for environmental and recy-
cling programs.
That’s according to a
report issued Tuesday,
Nov. 10, by the Secretary
of State’s Audits Division,
which called for a modern-
ization of the groundbreak-
ing Bottle Bill, produced
nearly 50 years ago. Those
deposits could add tens of
millions of dollars to the
state’s budget.
Under the current sys-
tem, beverage distributors
keep unredeemed depos-
its. The proposed changes
would allow the state to
collect the deposits as
uncollected property — a
potential boon for govern-
ment environmental pro-
grams but at the same time
a financial hit for beverage
distributors.
The changes stem from
Oregon’s bottle bill, a land-
mark program developed in
1971 to help combat ram-
pant litter piling up in for-
ests and along highways.
Lawmakers at the time saw
Dean Guernsey/For EO Media Group
Paula Edgren of Bend recycles bottles at Knott Landfill Recycling & Transfer Facility in Bend.
the idea of a deposit as the
best incentive to get Ore-
gonians to return their cans
and bottles.
The 5-cent deposit per
can was significant in 1971,
when a six-pack of beer cost
around $1.05, or about 39%
of the sales price. A six-
pack of beer today averages
around $10, so the existing
10-cent deposit per can rep-
resents only around 6% of
the sales price.
Nine other states and
British Columbia have since
followed Oregon in imple-
menting their bottle deposit
rules.
But Oregon is facing bud-
get cuts in upcoming years,
according to the audit, and
it recommends that the Ore-
gon Liquor Control Com-
mission work with the
unclaimed property divi-
sion to pursue unclaimed
property related to the Bot-
tle Bill.
According to the state
audit, $30.6 million in unre-
deemed deposits were col-
lected last year by beverage
distributors. Bryant Haley,
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alcohol spokesperson for
the state’s Liquor Control
Commission, said most of
that went to the Oregon
Beverage Recycling Coop-
erative, and the remain-
ing funds were collected by
other distributors.
Of the 10 states that
have a bottle bill, eight col-
lect unredeemed depos-
its to support environmen-
tal programs or the general
fund. The state auditors
also recommended expand-
ing the scope of the bot-
tle bill to include wine and
liquor sales.
“Oregon has an opportu-
nity to enhance state reve-
nues by adopting the prac-
tices of other states by
collecting unredeemed con-
tainer deposits,” accord-
ing to the audit. “Natural
resource programs are fac-
ing budget shortfalls and
unredeemed
containers
could help solve some of the
gap.”
The cooperative, which
operates the Bottle Drop
recycling centers, is largely
funded by the current sys-
tem and has the most at
stake if changes are made to
the way unredeemed depos-
its are handled. Around
10% of bottles are not
redeemed, according to the
cooperative.
In 2019, the recycling
cooperative had a $44 mil-
lion budget and received
$18.2 million in funding
from unredeemed deposits
in Oregon, said Jules Bailey,
chief stewardship officer for
the recycling co-op. That
shortfall required co-op
members to pay nearly $26
million into the system.
“If the state had taken all
those unredeemed depos-
its, it would have increased
costs in the system by 69%
for our members,” said
Bailey.
“Frankly, our members
would not be able to absorb
that, and they would have to
pass it on to their customers.
All in all, it would mean the
end of the BottleDrop sys-
tem as we know it and that
Oregonians have come to
rely on,” he said.
The cooperative, which
has over 200 members,
including Columbia Dis-
tributing and Bigfoot Bev-
erage, argues that states that
claim unredeemed deposits
achieve less success com-
pared to Oregon, with lower
can and bottle return rates.
“Most of those sys-
tems are struggling, with
return rates below 70%.
California just announced
their redemption rate has
fallen to almost 60%. As a
result, other states are look-
ing to copy Oregon’s suc-
cess and program, not the
other way around,” accord-
ing to a statement from the
cooperative.
Mark Pettinger, spokes-
person for the Liquor Con-
trol Commission, said the
commission’s role in chang-
ing the rule is limited to
compliance and enforce-
ment of the Bottle Bill.
“The audit provides an
opportunity to stand back
and assess how one of Ore-
gon’s most iconic laws could
continue to evolve,” said
Pettinger. “At the governor’s
direction, we will work with
other stakeholders regard-
ing existing unclaimed
property laws.”
Oregon elections director was
fired after he detailed problems
By ANDREW SELSKY
Associated Press
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NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
SALEM — Oregon’s
elections
director
was
abruptly fired in a text mes-
sage by the secretary of state
after he pointed out serious
issues with the state’s aging
and vulnerable technology
for running elections.
Elections Director Ste-
phen Trout learned in a text
message on Nov. 5 — as
his department and county
elections officials were still
counting votes from the Nov.
3 election — that he was out.
On Nov. 6, Secretary of
State Bev Clarno, a Repub-
lican appointed to the posi-
tion by Democratic Gov.
Kate Brown, announced to
county clerks and other elec-
tions officials in Oregon’s 36
counties that “today is also
Steve Trout’s last day with
the Agency.”
Election officials in the
state were stunned.
Steve Druckenmiller, the
veteran Linn County clerk,
said Clarno’s action was
“dangerous and so ignorant.”
“We are still in the elec-
tion process right now. We
are reconciling, we’re deal-
ing with problems right now
as far as your signatures and
communicating with vot-
ers who didn’t sign the bal-
lots,” Druckenmiller said.
“We’re going to have to do
recounts, all of these things.
Bend Bulletin, File/Bend Bulletin
Secretary of State Bev Clarno, a Republican appointed to
the position by Democratic Gov. Kate Brown, announced
to county clerks and other elections officials in Oregon’s 36
counties on Nov. 6, 2020, that “today is also Steve Trout’s last
day with the Agency.”
She doesn’t understand
elections.”
Clarno’s office did not
immediately respond to a
request for comment.
Trout, in a letter emailed
Nov. 2 to the Republican
and Democratic candidates
to replace Clarno, who did
not run, described problems
with the internet technol-
ogy side of the Secretary of
State’s Office.
He also said federal
money had been misspent
and that $11.7 million from
the federal government
must be returned by Dec.
31 because the Oregon Leg-
islature did not authorize
to “spend a penny” of the
funds.
This happened even as
the Oregon Centralized
Voter Registration system is
so old that Microsoft no lon-
ger supports the Windows
Server 2008 system that it
operates on.
The Secretary of State’s
Office was going to take
bids — officially known as
a request for proposal — in
October for a new system,
but Clarno paused this proj-
ect without consulting with
the county clerks or Trout,
the ousted election director
said.
Furthermore, Trout said
calls by himself and other
election officials for third-
party verification systems to
protect Oregon from hack-
ing of election systems went
unheeded.
IN BRIEF
Oregon sex workers can
apply for relief grants
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SALEM — Nearly $600,000 in federal
COVID-relief funds is available for Oregon
strippers and sex workers of color who have
been financially impacted by the coronavi-
rus pandemic.
Anyone “who has made income from
using their or other people’s sexuality to
financially assist themselves” can apply, said
Cat Hollis, founder of PDX Stripper Strike
and Haymarket Pole Collective, which is
administering the grant. Priority will be
given to Black, Indigenous and transgender
applicants, those with minor dependents liv-
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ing in the household and those experiencing
homelessness.
The funds are part of $45 million in
health equity grants distributed by the Ore-
gon Health Authority.
The grants will allow Haymarket Pole
Collective to provide financial assistance
to 75 people, who can receive up to $1,600
in rent assistance, $500 in utility assistance
and $150 toward internet services.
Applications will be taken through
Dec. 1, with funds distributed by Dec. 30.
Most strip club dancers are contractors,
not employees, and aren’t eligible for tradi-
tional unemployment.
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