Thoughts On Oregon's Hobo Tax And How It Affects Portland? (Beaverton: homes, neighborhoods)

[urbanlife78]

Originally Posted by VelouriaPDX

I would never have minded an occasional polite bottle collector. I did mind the angry and more menacing ones, like I said, at least 20 a day within a few feet of our back door. Many were harmless, some definitely weren't. Now it doesn't effect me at all because our recycling is behind a locked gate.

That usually solves the problem if and when there is a problem.

[Raisinet]

Originally Posted by VelouriaPDX

I would never have minded an occasional polite bottle collector. I did mind the angry and more menacing ones, like I said, at least 20 a day within a few feet of our back door. Many were harmless, some definitely weren't. Now it doesn't effect me at all because our recycling is behind a locked gate.

Oh, Wow. It's sad you've been forced to lock up what is essentially state taxed trash.

I wish Oregon would do away with the bottle tax and switch to paying people to sort it at transfer stations. The state could still get the money for the metals. Let inmates work there for a wage.

If someone makes a decent wage, it's not worth their time and effort to endure a bottle return to get one or two dollars back of their $50k income.

[urbanlife78]

Nah, I am cool with the bottle and can tax in Oregon. It does help promote recycling.

[Nell Plotts]

I think the deposit should be raised and more containers included, the current deposit makes returning them hardly worth the effort. A large bag rarely returns $2.00. If as a result more street people pick those containers they have earned the deposit.

I don't know about places other than Fred Meyer and Costco but there the deposit receipt must be cashed at the store. IMHO those retailers should give a bonus if the deposit is spent on nourishing food or a coupon for a meal at Sisters of the Road Cafe.

[KJoe11]

I would rather use the army of untapped workforce currently sitting in jail cells for picking up the trash, park maintenance, and other laborious chores. But, I don't think that will happen. So, I guess deposits on cans and bottles does work in a small measure.

[PNW-type-gal]

Originally Posted by Raisinet

I'm curious what others thoughts are on Oregon's Hobo Tax, aka. the bottle and can return deposit required on beverages sold in the state.

I think that is a ridiculously negative spin on the bottle bill. At this point you are really reaching for negative points. The bottle helped, quite a bit, with roadside trash when it went in. Does it create problems for people who live in dense urban neighborhoods? Maybe, can't say because that is not where I - and a lot of other Oregonians - live.

In my local area they went to the all-in-one recycling center which works pretty well - takes bottles, cans from all the local stores and they will hand-count anything not in the system. Most of the machines are up, it is regularly hosed out and doesn't smell (too) bad. It isn't somewhere you want to go on the weekends due to lines. Much better than the stores and the often mostly-out-of-order centers.

[Raisinet]

Originally Posted by PNW-type-gal

I think that is a ridiculously negative spin on the bottle bill. At this point you are really reaching for negative points. The bottle helped, quite a bit, with roadside trash when it went in. Does it create problems for people who live in dense urban neighborhoods? Maybe, can't say because that is not where I - and a lot of other Oregonians - live.

In my local area they went to the all-in-one recycling center which works pretty well - takes bottles, cans from all the local stores and they will hand-count anything not in the system. Most of the machines are up, it is regularly hosed out and doesn't smell (too) bad. It isn't somewhere you want to go on the weekends due to lines. Much better than the stores and the often mostly-out-of-order centers.

So you don't live in Portland or a dense area, and you can't really say how the bottle bill is affecting us here: have I got that right?

[CanuckInPortland]

In my neighborhood we have one old Asian lady who seems to go through the yellow bins for recyclable cans and bottles once a week the night before recycling pickup. At least she's fairly quick and polite about it.

Most people are probably too tired and busy to go back and recycle most of the bottles themselves for what you get back though. The wait for a machine isn't that big a problem in my NE neighborhood at the grocery store--it's more so that unless I have a big party(or develop a drinking problem), I'm never motivated to sit there for ten minutes(while some cans and bottles are rejected until I try again and then they work) for basically a couple dollars back at most.

Imagine if you just paid for people returning other recyclables(plastics, paper, etc)--you could just get rid of weekly recycling trucks, someone would just make a living out of picking up everything on the curbs.

[dots45]

I used to dread going to the bottle return at grocery stores...but if you live near one in Portland, Bottledrop is a great option to return cans. Lots of machines, dedicated attendants, and fairly clean. And it doesn't reject half the bottles like the local store ones do. If I can incorporate it into other errands and its not terribly busy, then it makes it not a waste of time going there.

[PNW-type-gal]

Originally Posted by Raisinet

So you don't live in Portland or a dense area, and you can't really say how the bottle bill is affecting us here: have I got that right?

You don't speak for all of Portland - you speak for yourself in whatever little bubble you live in. I lived in several places in Portland - although never downtown - and didn't have the problems you describe. But, believe it or not, there is a Portland - and an Oregon - outside urban core downtown Portland.

You also have zero perspective on the bottle bill - what was it like before the bottle bill and curbside recycling? You have no idea.