The Oregon Bottle Bill is a container-deposit legislation enacted in the U.S. state of Oregon in 1971 that went into effect in October 1972. It was the first such legislation in the United States. It was amended in 2007 and 2011. It requires applicable beverages in applicable sizes in glass, plastic or metal cans or bottles sold in Oregon to be returnable with a minimum refund value. The refund value was initially 5 cents until April 1, 2017, when it increased to 10 cents. The Oregon Legislature has given the Oregon Liquor Control Commission the authority to administer and enforce the Bottle Bill. Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative (OBRC), a private cooperative owned by retailers and beverage distributors, administers the collection and transportation of returned containers and keeps all the unclaimed deposits. Materials from returned containers are sold by the OBRC and proceeds are handed out to beverage distributors. In 2022, the bottle bill was expanded to include canned wine, which will become eligible for redemption on July 1, 2025.
Examples of containers subject to refund value
Marking stamped on top of cans indicating OR 10₵
refund value marking on bottles.
BottleDrop Express drop vault for depositing tagged green bags and a BottleDrop kiosk for account access and label printing.
Container-deposit legislation
Container-deposit legislation is any law that requires the collection of a monetary deposit on beverage containers at the point of sale and/or the payment of refund value to the consumers. When the container is returned to an authorized redemption center, or retailer in some jurisdictions, the deposit is partly or fully refunded to the redeemer. It is a deposit-refund system.
A deposit return machine for glass bottles, plastic bottles and bottle crates (left) in a Dutch supermarket
Refillable glass bottles collected, and deposits refunded, at a collection point in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Deposit values (from 50 tyiyn to 2 Kyrgyz som, i.e. 2–5 U.S. cents) for various bottle types are posted next to the sample bottles on a rack.
A reverse vending machine in a Montreal grocery store.
Reverse container vending machine in Kooringal, New South Wales