When Oregon’s can/bottle return system was enacted decades ago, it was hailed as an environmental innovation that would both encourage recycling and help preserve the natural beauty of the state. Fast-forward to 2025 and the twin objectives of the original Bottle Bill have been largely achieved, but with a troubling unintended consequence: unruly people seeking ready cash. Case in point: The parking lot of iconic neighborhood landmark Beaumont Market — just a short distance from Beaumont Middle School — is where trash and drug paraphernalia pile up daily.
So why should Beaumont Market be an epicenter for such activity? The current bottle bill law requires that stores larger than 5,000 square feet (which Beaumont Market is, barely) and more than 3.5 miles from a redemption center (which Beaumont Market is, barely) accept up to $14.40 in containers per person daily. But the canners have learned to arrive at the market with other people in order to cash in more cans and then share in the take. To count thousands of cans, five hours of market staff time is needed each day.
Big store chains like Fred Meyer and Safeway have been able to avoid the problem by participating in the Green/Blue Bag return program (uniformly bagged cans and bottles are deposited in machines with no immediate cash return). But there’s a catch for small grocers: The cost to implement the bag program is between $85,000 and $140,000!
With Beaumont Market losing customers and revenue — and vagrancy and open drug use spilling over into residential streets — market owner Matt Marcott joined North Precinct’s Sgt. Carrie Hutchison at BWNA’s August general meeting to provide information, field questions, and discuss mitigation options. Here are the take-aways:
- Marcott announced that he is now committed to participating in the Green/Blue Bag program, despite the steep price tag. (Be forewarned: it may take some time.)
- Sgt. Hutchison recommended that residents phone 311 to report vagrancy, drug use, and vandalism (or 911 if the danger level warrants). Meanwhile, she’ll encourage officers to drop by the market.
- BWNA is in the process of engaging state and local representatives in crafting legislation to mitigate, if not eliminate, the problem for small residential grocers.
BWNA will keep you informed about this subject in future newsletters and our monthly email to subscribers. If you’re not a subscriber, visit BWNApdx.org and click “Subscribe.”
A native of San Francisco and longtime BWNA board member and former editor of this newsletter, Al Ellis taught Russian and social studies in Portland schools for over 30 years. He’s also served as president of the Portland-Khabarovsk Sister City Association. He and his wife Peggy have been B-W residents since 1990.