Thoughts On Oregon's Hobo Tax And How It Affects Portland? (Milwaukie: house, neighborhood)

[jjpop]

Originally Posted by urbanlife78

Not sure what this has to do with my post, if people walking around in your neighborhood bothers you so much, then yes, I totally agree with you, a quiet suburb where people aren't going to be visiting is definitely a much nicer place for some. Though regardless where one lives in Oregon, we all still pay into the bottle tax whenever we buy any in bottles or cans, and I don't know about you, but I think it is a great program to have in this state.

Well... if you read what Yankeemama is saying, it's not a derisive comment about the bottle bill, she's lamenting the individuals who are discourteous about rifling through her recycling can looking for returns, then leaving it's contents outside of the can for her to pick up.

C'mon, urbanlife, even you have to agree that it's not right for somebody to tip over your can and scatter the stuff onto the street. Maybe if it happened to you, you would happily go out at 6:30am and put it all back in the can, satisfied that a Portland street person was able to make 45 cents? We just can't all be that awesome.

[urbanlife78]

Originally Posted by Yankeemama

Read your reply to Rasinet and then read my reply. Connect the dots that way and maybe my post will make sense. I don't care about the bottle tax really. I recycle and am happy when I put my recyclables outside my fence and the company that is hired by the City Of Beaverton comes and picks up by recycling in the morning. It's wonderful.

That's cool.

[Raisinet]

Originally Posted by Yankeemama

You are are making a big deal out of what Rasinet is saying. I got sick of freaks wandering into my property in Portland and interesting people going through my recycling every week. Some of us DO mind and considering the property taxes in Multnomah County... I had a reasonable expectation that I wouldn't have to clean my recycling from the street because some wonderful character didn't find what he was looking for in my bin. So, yes, some home owners DO mind and yes, another reason some of us, middle class breeders, move out to the suburbs. It may be boring out here but damn peaceful.

Exactly. And thank you. Some would rather attack me for pointing out the problem rather than face up to the problem, or look at it objectively.

If the only way this state can recycle is to put a bounty on bottles and cans so the homeless will gather them up, then it has far bigger problems, and doesn't deserve it's green image.

[urbanlife78]

Originally Posted by jjpop

Well... if you read what Yankeemama is saying, it's not a derisive comment about the bottle bill, she's lamenting the individuals who are discourteous about rifling through her recycling can looking for returns, then leaving it's contents outside of the can for her to pick up.

C'mon, urbanlife, even you have to agree that it's not right for somebody to tip over your can and scatter the stuff onto the street. Maybe if it happened to you, you would happily go out at 6:30am and put it all back in the can, satisfied that a Portland street person was able to make 45 cents? We just can't all be that awesome.

I guess the man who collected bottles and cans at my place back in the day was much nicer, I guess I was lucky with that....either way, where we live now we don't even have people rummaging through our bottles and recycling, so it isn't an issue. It also doesn't sound like it is an issue for her either anymore.

[urbanlife78]

Originally Posted by Raisinet

Exactly. And thank you. Some would rather attack me for pointing out the problem rather than face up to the problem, or look at objectively.

If the only way this state can recycle is to put a bounty on bottles and cans so the homeless will gather them up, then it has far bigger problems, and doesn't deserve it's green image.

If you live in an expensive rental downtown, I would imagine your building would have the recycling locked up so that it wouldn't be an issue for you....

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by Raisinet

If the only way this state can recycle is to put a bounty on bottles and cans so the homeless will gather them up, then it has far bigger problems, and doesn't deserve it's green image.

The situation you describe affects a small minority of Oregon residents. Sucks for those living downtown, but it works fine for those of us who live elsewhere. I do think it's unreasonable for you to expect a system that works well for most people to change in order to accommodate you.

[Nell Plotts]

I live in Goose Hollow, it hasn't been an issue in my neighborhood.

[sloyd]

Originally Posted by Raisinet

Exactly. And thank you. Some would rather attack me for pointing out the problem rather than face up to the problem, or look at it objectively.

If the only way this state can recycle is to put a bounty on bottles and cans so the homeless will gather them up, then it has far bigger problems, and doesn't deserve it's green image.

Are you from the South? Most Northern States east or west have bottle returns

[bler144]

Originally Posted by sloyd

Are you from the South? Most Northern States east or west have bottle returns

Indeed, I grew up with the bottle bill so it doesn't strike me as particularly novel. And I confess to not really having read the whole thread, so I may be repeating points already made.

Though I think there are a couple things happening:

1) The bill was first implemented in OR in 1971. At that point the deposit was enough of a spur for the average person to at least be bothered to consider doing their own returns, in an age where most people weren't recycling via any other means.
2) The deposit has not kept pace with inflation, and the 'cost/benefit' is so low that my sense is the vast majority don't bother. I don't think I've done a return in years. It costs me maybe $1 per month, which is nothing.
3) For the unemployed/homeless, harvesting from multiple houses is a way to garner 'enough' revenue to make the endeavor worthwhile. But yes, since they often operate at dusk/night, it can be disruptive.

Ultimately the bill as it is seems a poor fit for life in 2015. Most people are recycling already it would seem, so the bottle bill doesn't seem to have much impact on recycling rates, and yet the 'cost' isn't great enough for a large swath of people to return bottles/cans to the store rather than just putting them in streetside co-mingle.

The amount either needs to be raised (which I think most people would object to), or there should be an option for munis to opt out if they can demonstrate a sufficient rate of recycling through streetside service.

[Raisinet]

Originally Posted by sloyd

Are you from the South? Most Northern States east or west have bottle returns

I've lived in many U.S states and traveled most of the others. I don't care about the five cents, even ten cents. My time is worth than dealing with trash. The stuff is garbage. If you have a recycle can, I'll proudly drop it in the right one. Otherwise, it's garbage.