Page | 5 BOTTLE BILL FAQs (Rev. January 2023)
BottleDrop account holders can drop up to 15 Green Bags per calendar quarter at
BottleDrop locations (Redemption Centers and BottleDrop Express locations). Account
holders can drop off between one to 15 bags per visit, but may not exceed 15 bags per
quarter, which run January-March, April-June, July-September, and October-December.
The Green Bags dropped off at DRCs do not count toward an account holder’s quarterly
limits on Green Bags, but retailers may limit customers to two bags per day. Blue Bags
are used by Oregon nonprofits participating in the OBRC Give program. Fundraiser
Blue Bags must be purchased through a Give account online and can then be picked up
at any BottleDrop Redemption Center. For Blue Bag fundraiser accounts, customers
may deposit through the drop door up to 10 Blue Bags per account per day.
BottleDrop Express facilities are not BottleDrop Redemption Centers and stores where
the Express facilities are located and that are in the surrounding area must continue to
accept 144 or 50 containers per person per day through the stores’ reverse vending
machines and/or by hand counting. These stores may not require that a customer open
an account to return containers at the store.
DRCs must have their drop doors available for the return of Green and Blue bags from
8 AM to 8 PM if the stores are open during those hours. BottleDrop account holders will
not be charged a processing fee for bags deposited at a DRC, and those bags will not
count toward the 15 bag per quarter limit for Green Bags. However, DRCs may limit
Green Bag returns to two bags per day. All other BottleDrop terms and conditions
apply. Except in cities with a population less than 10,000, the stores in the surrounding
area must continue to accept 144 or 50 containers per person per day through the
stores’ reverse vending machines and/or by hand counting.
OLCC will update the list of redemption centers when it is notified that a new BottleDrop
Express or DRC has opened. The list can be found here. Notification is required within
14 days after a DRC has opened, so the OLCC's redemption center list may not always
be current. Customers can also locate BottleDrop Redemption Centers, BottleDrop
Express locations, and Dealer Redemption Centers (partner retailers) here.
Why should I open a BottleDrop account?
Having a BottleDrop account provides convenience. Account holders can drop off
containers without having to feed them into a machine or wait for a hand count.
Account holders may withdraw vouchers against the funds in their account to use at
stores. A store designated as a PLUS location by OBRC allows account holders to
withdraw vouchers for use in the store that are worth 20% more at that store, giving
customers 12 cents per container returned.
Accounts are free to open, but bags are 20 cents each and sold in rolls of 10 at
redemption centers and at BottleDrop Express retailers. The cost of bags bought at a
redemption center will be deducted from the customer’s BottleDrop account, but
customers will need to pay the retailer for bags purchased from a BottleDrop Express