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The temporary exemption to Oregon Bottle Bill that Gov. Tina Kotek issued to the Safeway store on Southwest 10th Avenue and a nearby Plaid Pantry on Southwest 11th Avenue lapsed on May 1.
That means the two stores must resume accepting redemptions of loose cans and bottles, after a 60-day holiday from the requirements of the Bottle Bill. (The two stores continued to accept bulk returns under the Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative’s Green Bag program during the hiatus.) Kotek had originally announced a 30-day exemption for the two stores as part of the joint city-county-state 90-day fentanyl emergency.
Kotek announced the original suspension on Feb. 29 after WW reported on the connection between the can and bottle returners who often bought and consumed ultra-cheap fentanyl outside the Safeway and Plaid Pantry stores.
Related: Fentanyl Threatens Oregon’s Cherished Bottle Bill
The Northwest Grocery Association, which includes Safeway, and Plaid Pantry CEO Jonathan Polonsky, both applauded the governor’s move, although Polonsky noted that it had the effect of shifting the problem to other downtown stores that didn’t get an exemption. After the first 30 days—and fervent lobbying from residents of the neighborhood around the two stores who papered Kotek’s office with emails of appreciation—the governor extended the exemption for a second month.
Some advocates, such as the Northwest Community Conservancy, are pushing lawmakers to rethink some aspects of the Bottle Bill. That group and others would like the state to take the cash out of the equation by issuing store credits for refunds and to move the entire system to a Green Bag program, in which customers return containers in bulk to automated machines for credit rather than bringing back individual containers to retailers like Safeway and Plaid Pantry. Some lawmakers and advocates for low-income Oregonians oppose such changes, saying that canners rely on the cash they earn and don’t have legal alternatives.
Residents around the Safeway and Plaid Pantry have continued to beseech Kotek to extend the exemption for another 30 days, but it expired at the same time as the end of the 90-day fentanyl emergency April 30.
Kotek’s spokeswoman, Elisabeth Shepard, says the report on the 90-day emergency, to be released later this month, will include more information about the Bottle Bill suspensions.