Where do I recycle/redeem bottles in Portland?

[wanderbygrace]

I believe there are redemption centers in both Oregon City & Wood Village, aren't there?

Nevermind - answered my own question. There are indeed two redemption centers in Oregon, specifically in OC & WV:
http://www.bottledropcenters.com/where

[kvon]

I didn't know there are automated machines. Will take a look next time I go shopping. I crushed all of the coke cans to save space, would that make the machines unable to accept them?

[hamellr]

Originally Posted by kvon

I didn't know there are automated machines. Will take a look next time I go shopping. I crushed all of the coke cans to save space, would that make the machines unable to accept them?

Yes. But you can still take them to a metal recycler and get cash off them.

Thanks wanderbygrace, I didn't know about those redemption centers. Unfortunately both are a bit out my way.

[wanderbygrace]

Yes, definitely don't crush the cans NOR bottles before going to an automated machine. It will spit them back out at you. Don't peel the labels off, either.

[smarcus711]

5,000 square feet or larger grocery stores are required to take back any redeemable container. It does not matter where you bought the product from or if the store sells the product if they are over 5,000 square feet. You will find reverse vending machines at all major grocery chains. There are also two redemption centers in the metro area. One in Wood Village and the other in Oregon City. These are called BottleDrop Redemption Centers. They have options of hand count, reverse vending, and a bottle drop bag account. If you sign up for an account, you will get green bags and can drop them off and within 24 hours they will be counted and the amount of money will be added to you account. Hope this answer helps everyone out.

[howardsgirlfriend]

Sometimes I encounter neighborhood kids who will take bottles/cans back for the refund. It's worth it to me to get them out of the house.

My best suggestion is to take everything to a store that has a machine. If the machine won't take it, it will spit it back out, and you can take it somewhere else, or leave it for someone who will.