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. You can get it back when you return the empty containers to one of the designated places. Look for "OR 10c" marking on the container. If you have a whole bunch of the same containers you're not sure about, carefully look all over. The marking can be anywhere on the container, including the bottom, or in a tiny font somewhere on the side.
Beverages that DO NOT have a deposit:
Wine (including wine based cocktails. Canned wine will become redeemable on July 1, 2025[2]
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[3]
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)
Liquor(as well as spirits based cocktail in a can, such as High Noon)
Milk/Milk substitutes (Milk first ingredient in the nutrition facts label)
Anything not ready to drink. Like concentrates, pure lemon juice, etc
Anything smaller than 4oz or larger than 3 liters (about 100 fl.oz)
Anything not factory sealed, such as growlers[4]
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Large bottles/jugs of non-carbonated beverage over 1.5 liters (about 51 fl.oz). Some beverages are intentionally slightly larger, such as 1.52 liters to avoid the deposit.
However... plain water is covered up to 3 liters. Generally anything with a carrying handle is excluded
You can usually get away with adding a handful of canned cocktails and wines and even get paid for them erroneously. Although, if you return a bag packed full of canned wine, your account will likely get flagged. However, if you distribute them so only a handful goes in each bag, you will probably be fine.
As of October 1, 2023, non Oregon residents are barred from having a green bag account and existing Washington and Idaho account holders will have their accounts closed. Ontario and Portland locations may ask for Oregon ID and/or receipts when you visit in-person to cash bottles if you arrive in a vehicle with Idaho or Washington plates. [5]
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So, you might have to park a block away. If you didn't hang onto your grocery shopping receipts, "according to officials, a proof of purchase or mail to an Oregon address will also work."[6]
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It is only unlawful if you return bottles with fraudulent intentions knowing they were not bought in Oregon.
There are two ways to redeem the deposit. The first half of this instruction is for an account based bulk return service available in major metropolitan areas in Oregon. If you're looking for information on cash-on-the-spot locations, skip to part 5. Bulk return service uses special kitchen trash bag sized "BottleDrop green bags" sold at stores with drop off doors. You return your labeled green bags to a drop location, scan your card and drop them off. They're hauled off and counted at a central facility. The funds are credited into your account within one week which you can access by going to a store with a BottleDrop kiosk. The other way is waiting in line, then feeding containers one-by-one into a machine. [7]
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The bagged return significantly reduces the time spent redeeming your empty containers.
Take a picture of your bag tag so you have a record of what bags were dropped off. Many complaints have been made about short payment or lost bags.[8]
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BottleDrop constantly receives complaints and it is rated "D" by the Better Business Bureau.[9]
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They're the only provider of the drop off bottle return service in Oregon as fixed by State law so going with "someone else" is unfortunately not an option.
Setting up a BottleDrop Account
Go to https://www.bottledrop.com/Locations Enter your zip code and check the " Drop Green or Blue Bags" option button to locate stores with an account creation kiosk and a drop vault. This is the official website of the only state licensed redemption operator. Skip to step 7 if you already have a BottleDrop account card.
Click on the location you intend to use. Locations that show up as "Partner Retailers" do not charge you a processing fee and you can drop off up to 15 bags PER DAY with no further restrictions. If the drop door says 8AM-8PM, it's a partner site. Sometimes these fees and quota counting happens on bags dropped off at partner sites, but they are due to OBRC screwups, which you can dispute with OBRC; and escalate to OLCC if you're ignored. Great majority of grocery store drop doors are the non-fee charging type. There is an 8% fee and a 15 bags per three months limit if you drop off your bags at the door at any of the BottleDrop depots or locations desiganted as "Express". There are 17 fee charging BottleDrop Express and 57 no-fee partner retailers in Oregon as of July 2023.
Go to the location you selected.
Find a BottleDrop kiosk inside the store. It is usually located in one of the store's entrances or near the customer service desk.
Push the new account button on the screen and follow the prompts. In the BottleDrop official FAQ, "Can I create an account without an ID?", they say yes. To do this, push "Start Application Using Manual Entry", however OBRC has quietly disabled "manual entry" from some of the kiosks. On those kiosks, there's no way to create an account without an Oregon ID. So your option is to scan your driver's license, or try another kiosk location. A ten digit number at which you can receive a text message is required. An address at which you receive mail must be entered also, but they don't send you things by mail. Your application may fail to verify automatically. You can call customer service, or try again at a different kiosk. The kiosk may spit out the below form even with a valid phone number telling you to call or email, but can succeed when tried with exact same information at another location/another time. If you succeed, you'll receive a text message with a six digit code. After you enter the code into the kiosk, you will get your card and a print out shown on the left. If it fails, you'll get the one shown on the right. Follow the on-screen instructions. Recpt.jpg
Set up your PIN and feed the code you received by text message into kiosk. You'll have three days to do so. Once you have the code, go to any location where you can drop off green bags, push "enter one time code" and key in the code you received in text message. Once complete, the machine will dispense a card. It might take a few hours before you can open the door with your new card.
Access your account on the kiosk with your BottleDrop card and your PIN. Print bag labels. The kiosk will print out a set of ten labels which you use to label your bags as belonging to you. Make sure there's no labels sitting around in the tray or in the area around the kiosk. Scammers purposely leave their labels behind like pictured and preying on someone to accidentally pick them up and get them mixed up with their own so the funds get diverted into scammer's account. If you think you might have picked up someone else's labels by accident, dispose everything and reprint your labels. You can print up to twice a day (20 labels/day).
Go to the customer service desk and ask where to find the "BottleDrop green bags". You must use these green BottleDrop branded bags. Don't waste time looking around in the store as they're not always kept at easy to find locations. Greenbags.jpg Purchase a box of 10 bags for $2 at any store that have a drop vault. You have to apply the stickers you printed at the kiosk before you drop the bag off. One bag holds about 90-95 12oz aluminum cans or 60-65 16.9oz plastic water bottles. On the other extreme, each bag holds 16-17 2-liter bottles.
Returning Containers
Fill the green bag with redeemable containers. Anything with "OR 10c" can go into the same bag without sorting. Flattened/crushed containers are not allowed in green bags. At worst, you'll get your account suspended, at best, you won't get paid for them. You can fill the bag as much as you can securely close as long as you remain under 30 glass bottles or 20 lbs per bag whichever is less. Set flattened/crushed containers aside and recycle them at curbside, or redeem them using the "cash on the spot" method in part 5 of this article.
Securely close the bag and attach one of the labels you obtained earlier. Labeling the bag before filling is highly recommend. If the bag is wet at the time of labeling, it will peel off. Don't overfill the bags. The top of the bag needs to close completely. Whatever falls out the opening is your loss. You can return the bags whenever you feel like it. It doesn't need to be full to drop off. Attach only one label per bag. Each label has a unique serial number.
Bring your bags to the drop-off site. The drop door is usually in the parking area. The account kiosk as well as bags are generally inside the store. There's no consistently, so you just have to ask the customer service desk where the "BottleDrop ATM". It is a good idea to take a picture of each bag you drop off because BottleDrop sometimes lose entire bags. Stand-alone BottleDrop depots and the uncommon "Express" sites charge a 8 percent processing fee and has a limit of 15 bags every three months.(See far right column. "BottleDrop Express stores" )
Scan your BottleDrop card to open the vault and drop off your bag inside. When possible toss the bag out of reach so scammers can not reach your bag to slap their own sticker over yours. but be mindful of rough landing if you have glass bottles inside. You should scan your own card when you drop off, because it activates the camera and document you dropping off your bags. This will become essential if for some reason your bags become lost in transit.
Wait up to a week to receive credit to your account. Bags dropped off at Partner Retailer Drop Location (grocery store spots labeled 8AM to 8PM) must be credited within 7 days of being dropped off per Oregon law (ORS 459A.741 2b). So, if payment delay or counting errors concerns bags dropped at parnter retailers, contact OLCC (Oregon Liquor & Cannabis Commission), not BottleDrop/OBRC and phrase it as a legal compliance issue rather than a customer service matter. If you complain about delays or inaccuracy issues for bags dropped off at BottleDrop Center, you will probably be told that it is a "voluntary premium programs for returning containers. Customers can avoid paying processing fees by returning containers individually, up to 350 containers per person per day, at BottleDrop Redemption Centers", however if you drop off at partner retailers, you're entitled to a better service, because Oregon Legislature has granted partner retailers the privilege of only accepting 24 cans for instant cash refund conditional to accepting bags by the requirements specified in ORS 459A.741. If they were not enrolled in it, those stores are required to accept 144/day instant cash refund. For bags dropped off at actual BottleDrop (dedicated return center) BottleDrop Express (the doors that are open 7AM-10PM), contact BottleDrop if you don't get credited after 7days. Send a message at https://bottledropcenters.force.com/s/support or call 503-542-5252 and complain. Process is smoother if you have the date/time of your drop, your BottleDrop card number and the serial numbers of lost bags involved. Give BottleDrop a week, and if still not resolved, complain to OLCC. Messaging them online is a better option as out of 15 times officials with the State Auditor's office called them, they could only get a hold of them once.
Cash on the spot bottle return
If you prefer cash on the spot: Stores in Oregon over 5,000 square feet (including warehouse space) that sell beverages and appear as "required to accept 144" or do not appear anywhere in the list at https://www.oregon.gov/olcc/Docs/bottle_bill/redemptioncenters.pdf must accept at least 144 containers for redemption per person per calendar day and bottle redemption must be available during entire store hours. Stores that do not sell alcoholic beverages do not have to take any alcohol containers ,but they do have to take empties of non-alcohol containers with deposit as long as they sell beverages. While bag drop sites and BottleDrop Redemption Centers have their own hours, state law requires retailers required to accept loose containers to do so all hours they're open. State law prohibits establishing a separate "bottle return hours" and they can not tell you to "come back tomorrow" during business hours. If the bottle room is closed early, or they shut off the machine early, they must hand count. Violations by retailers is very common. If you plan on cashing very large quantities, such as bringing a box truck full of bottle from Valsetz, Oregon to the Portland metro area, call the retailers listed below about two weeks in advance to confirm they take bottles. If told no, report them to OLCC. Just like the legal age to buy alcohol, store can't make a policy to skirt the requirements under law. . Store corporate office, individual stores, or franchise owners are NOT allowed to adjust bottle return policies to be more restrictive than the mandatory minimum, but they're free to accept more, say 200, instead of 144. Large stores fitted with the 8AM-8PM green bag doors only have to take bags during those hours, but they have to accept 24 bottles for cash refund on the spot outside of the bag system throughout the store hour. Listed out below are some retail store spots in the Portland metro area where one may return 144 containers and receive cash on the spot. Bottle Bill rules are very complicated, but the specific stores listed below are screened. Example locations listed in this article are only relevant to the specific address. If you're uncertain about the requirements of a store at a specific address is required to accept, direct questions to OLCC, not the store. While illegal refusals by stores is very common, some refusals are legitimate. Large stores within the BottleDrop "zones" that pay to participate in BottleDrop don't have to accept any, or only accept 24 depending on how far. If you believe you experienced illegal refusal and finding another spot is a major inconvenience, ask OLCC about the quantity requirements for the specific store name and address. Use the form at: https://www.oregon.gov/olcc/pages/bottle_bill.aspx or call 800-452-6522 (ext. 25132) if you do not have consistent internet access. Listed below in this article are some examples of stores required by law to accept 144 containers of any brand per person per day, and if their machines are not working or valid containers are rejected by the machines, they must hand count them. Being too busy, short on hand, or lack of space to store empties or waiting for accumulated bottles to be picked up do not excuse them from legal obligations to accept them. . Compliance isn't always high, but for those whom getting cash immediately for cans is essential, this is worth keeping written down. If you're refused the opportunity to return bottles at a retailer that is required to do so, don't abuse the front clerk that's just doing what they're told. Ask to see a manager or a supervisor. Be polite and remain civil. Note what was refused and the reason given, name, date, exact time, supervisor's physical characteristics and what they were wearing (like you would for a crime suspect). Report them to OLCC with the information. By being refused directly by a supervisor and having the relevant details, it prevents the store from weaseling out with "cart boy didn't follow instructions" or "hmm we have more than one John's in the store". For now, hit another spot, and come back after OLCC has followed up with them. OLCC can impose sanctions that can impact alcohol license for violating the bottle bill, so complaint to OLCC is more effective when the violating retailer's bottom line is heavily dependent on their alcohol license. It is a complaint driven process and reporting it can help you make sure they're brought to compliance so you can return empties the next time you visit. Reporting a retailer not in compliance only takes a minute or two using the form on OLCC's website. Some examples of Washington County locations that must allow customers to redeem at least 144 container per individual person per calendar day. These locations are carefully verified. If you're told anything different by the store manager, they're usually wrong and you need to check with OLCC which oversees the bottle bill for the State of Oregon. Tanasbourne Village/Tanasbourne Town Center spots. This is a shopping center in unincorporated Washington county along NW 185th Ave just off the Sunset highway exit to the south. There are four large beverage selling retailers here clustered together and they're each required to process cash on the spot bottle return of 144 bottles/day/person. If you're traveling, you can hop all four stores in the shopping center and redeem 576 containers the same day without driving around much. The limit is per person, not per group or per vehicle the containers are brought in. So bring a friend along and this limit doubles. If you experience pushbacks by one of these retailers below in returning 144 or less redeemable containers whose brand and "OR 10c" are legible and not contaminated with foreign substances, ask to speak to a manager and ask again. If you're still refused, take their name and complain to OLCC and include that manager's name and title. This prevents the store from claiming misunderstanding by low level staff or miscommunication when contacted by OLCC. Tanasbourne Safeway #1230 2177 NW 185th Ave(OLCC license #328547. They were cited by the State of Oregon in 2018 for illegally capping returns to 24 per person when they were required to accept 144.) Tanasbourne RITE AID #5339 2021 NW 185th Ave (OLCC license #327127) Tanasbourne Trader Joe's 2285 NW 185th Ave Tanasbourne Target 11095 NE Evergreen Pkwy Rich area.png Tanasbourne/Hillsboro Whole Foods 9940 NE Cornell Rd Winco 7330 NE Butler St, Hillsboro (5 minute bike ride from Orenco TriMet MAX) Cost Plus World Market 10108 SW Washington Square Rd, hand count by staff (Next to Red Robin restaurant in the mall. Hwy 217/Greenburg). in the Washington Square mall in Tigard (OLCC license #325650) Cedar Mill Target 12675 NW Cornell Rd (hand count by staff) QFC #201 4756 NW Bethany Blvd & (OLCC license #329746) G-mart 3975 SW 114th Ave, Beaverton (OLCC license #325886). Across the road from Fred Meyer. Only 3 minute bike ride from Beaverton TC MAX station. Some specific examples of Multnomah County 144/person/day bottle return spots where you get cash-on-the-spot for bottles. Until the end of April 2024, Oregon Governor Tina Kotek granted a temporary waiver to the Portland downtown Safeway and the Plaid Pantry #13 next door from having to take back any bottles due to "fentanyl crisis". However, stores such as Zupan's at SW 23rd and Burnside or the Liquor Store on NW 22nd and W Burnside remain required to accept 144 per person per day. They're not allowed to refuse legally. If refused, concerns should be directed to OLCC, not the store management. SAFEWAY STORE #3136 8145 SW Barbur Blvd (OLCC license # 314321) - Multnomah Blvd & Barbur Blvd Basics Market 6344 SW Capitol Hwy, Portland. Near where OR-10 Beaverton Hillsdale Hwy and Capitol Hwy/Bertha come together Zupan's Market - Macadam 7221 S Macadam Ave (next to Willamette Park. 7AM to 8PM daily) Zupan's downtown King's Hill flagship store (2340 W Burnside - downtown flagship Zupan's. NW 23rd & W Burnside 5 blocks up the hill from Fred Meyer. ) 7am to 8pm daily Sip City Spirits + Wine + Beer 2215 W Burnside St (your results may vary) (10am — 9pm M-Sat, 11PM-6PM Sun) John's Marketplace, 3535 SW Multnomah Blvd (2/3 mile from Gabriel Park. Hand count by staff. Complain to OLCC if you experience any issues. This store's main business is beer and wine. Their entirely livelihood is dependent on their OLCC liquor license. If you experience any issues, complain to OLCC which has the authority to sanction their liquor license for bottle bill violations) Whole Foods - Pearl District, 1210 NW Couch St (two blocks west from NW 10th & Couch street car stop. Return area on NW 13 between Couch and Burnside) Market of Choice #3 1090 SE Belmont St (OLCC license #333026) (3 minute bike ride from northbound transit Streetcar stop at SE Grand & SE Belmont. They have been illegally refusing since around December 2022) JOHN'S MARKETPLACE 3560 SE POWELL BLVD (hand count by staff OLCC license # 331691, they're fully dependent on having OLCC license in good standing. This is an alternative to Safeway on Cesar Chavez/Powell) Hollywood Rite-Aid 1814 NE 41st Ave (3 minute bike ride from Hollywood Transit Center) Hollywood Grocery Outlet 4420 NE Hancock St (OLCC license #322009) (two minutes by bike from TriMet Hollywood Transit Center) Walgreens 3909 SE Holgate Blvd Walgreens 12215 SE Powell Blvd Walgreens 4325 SE 82nd Ave (SE Holgate & SE 82nd) Winco 7979 SE Powell Blvd Fubonn 2850 SE 82nd Ave Cost Plus World Market GRESHAM. 989 NW 12th St, Gresham Examples of 144/person/day locations in Clackamas County Cost Plus World Market #6133 8626 SE Sunnyside Rd (OLCC license #347577) Zupan's Lake Oswego 16380 Boones Ferry Rd, Lake Oswego (7AM - 8PM every day)
Dealing with flattened and crushed containers. This is an example of a valid container, because both the brand and OR 10c are recognizable. Being run over in traffic doesn't void the refund value contrary to what many stores tell you. While crushed and flattened containers are not allowed in green bags, if you can still recognize what the product is and "OR 10c" is visible, retail stores that are required to accept containers are required to accept them in the same amount as non-damaged containers, whether or not their reverse vending machines accept them. If the machine doesn't take them, staff must hand count them. The refundability is not contingent upon acceptance by the machine. Stores can't require you to wash the container. They can refuse containers contaminated with anything other than residues from original contents, water, or ordinary dust. ORS 459A.715 2 b, or they're damaged to the extent that you can't identify the brand.(ORS 459A.715(2)(d)) (page 9) More often than not, stores illegally push back, but nonetheless they're required to accept them. It is likely necessary to report uncooperative retailers to OLCC to get them to comply.
Out of State containers. The containers usually look the same whether they're from Washington or Oregon. The redemption system can not detect the difference, but it is illegal to knowingly redeem them. ,
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