The update of Oregon’s Bottle Bill was sent to the House floor this afternoon, but not without a concession to grocery stores. House Bill 2184 adds several new beverages to the bottle bill list. It also raises the refund from five cents to ten cents, if Oregonians don’t meet certain recycling goals. The Environment and Water Committee approved it on a 5-2 party line vote.
Grocers want to create a statewide system of redemption centers, so that they don’t have to handle so many bottle returns. A dispute over which stores would have to accept returns, and how many, was dropped to help the bill pass.
As for the Greenhouse gas legislation, the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee approved it on a 3-2 party line vote. Senate bill 80 puts into place plans to reduce greenhouse emissions in the state over the next 40 years. It was forwarded to the Joint Ways and Means Committee, meaning a floor vote is still in doubt.
