Ready to Drop Some Dimes? BottleDrop 'til you can't stop in TD at FM
Cynthia Slovene of Roosevelt, Wash. stopped by the Fred Meyer in The Dalles today, May 3, and was stoked to see the new BottleDrop machine. “This will be a lot better,” she said. While the money takes several days to get credited to an account, you can simply drop off a bag of cans, rather than the old medthod of scanning them through one at a time. It’s change, but maybe change for the better?
The Dalles, Ore.—Recycling Oregon’s 10-cent redeemable beverage containers just got much easier for area residents and nonprofits in The Dalles, thanks to the arrival of a BottleDrop Green and Blue Bag drop location at Fred Meyer, 1215 W. 6th Street.
The new BottleDrop bag drop location officially opens to the public on Thursday, May 4, becoming The Dalles’ first Green and Blue Bag drop location, and the first location in the Columbia River Gorge.
“I have been a strong advocate for more convenient container return options in The Dalles, and I’m thrilled to see the BottleDrop network opening a new Green Bag drop option in town,” said
State Senator Daniel Bonham. “Oregon’s Bottle Bill gets tremendous recycling outcomes, and consumer convenience is a key component of its success.”
State Senator Daniel Bonham
Through the Green and Blue Bag programs, individuals (via Green Bags) and nonprofits (via Blue Bags) can conveniently redeem containers in bulk, placing redeemable metal, plastic, and glass beverage containers all in the same bags and dropping them off at any BottleDrop bag drop location in Oregon, instead of redeeming them one container at a time. Customers place unique QR code bag tag stickers onto their bags, which associate the contents of those bags with the customer’s BottleDrop account. Bags are counted and credited to customer accounts within seven days - often more quickly.
State Representative Jeff Helfrich.
“Consumer convenience helps achieve strong recycling performance, and I’m thrilled to see the bag program make its way to The Dalles, which will help Oregon’s container redemption system continue to lead in the nation,” said State Representative Jeff Helfrich.
Consumer convenience has sparked rapid growth in the program. Last year, over 927,000 BottleDrop account holders dropped off more than 11.4 million Green and Blue Bags in Oregon.
There are currently over 2,000 BottleDrop account holders located within 30 miles of the new drop location in The Dalles, who collectively dropped off over 21,000 bags of beverage containers to be redeemed and recycled in the past year, claiming more than $162,000 in OR 10-cent refunds.
Wasco County Commissioner Steve Kramer
“This is great news,” said Wasco County Commissioner, Steve Kramer. “Our community has needed this advanced partnership with OBRC for some time now, and I’m grateful for everybody who helped make it possible. By enhancing convenience, this new return option will help keep redeemable containers out of our waste stream.”
Existing BottleDrop account holders can now use this new BottleDrop location just like they currently use the bag drop doors at any other BottleDrop location. “Expanding bag drop access to communities in the Columbia River Gorge has been a major priority for the BottleDrop network,” said Eric Chambers, vice president of strategy and outreach at the Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative. “This is the first drop door between Wood Village and Hermiston, and we’re thrilled to make container redemption more convenient than ever for area residents.”
New customers can sign up for a BottleDrop account online, through the mobile app (search for “BottleDrop Account” in the App Store or on Google Play), or through the BottleDrop kiosk located at any bag drop location (including inside Fred Meyer). Green Bags are also now available for purchase at Fred Meyer (and at all bag drop locations), and customers can print their bag tag stickers at the store’s BottleDrop kiosk as well.
Area nonprofits and their supporters can also participate, supercharging their bottle and can fundraising drives through the Blue Bag Program. The Blue Bag program allows nonprofits to set up fundraising accounts with BottleDrop and distribute Blue Bags to their supporters. Just like the Green Bag program, fundraisers are given unique bag tag QR code stickers to place on their bags, which ensure that the funds from those containers are credited to the nonprofit’s BottleDrop account.
BottleDrop is operated by OBRC, which introduced the bulk Green and Blue Bag redemption program in Oregon in 2010, as a convenient and efficient bottle and can recycling option. The program has grown each year since, with nearly 1 million BottleDrop account holders and over 5,500 Oregon nonprofits currently participating in the program. Fred Meyer in The Dalles is the 98th bag drop location in BottleDrop’s statewide network.
How does BottleDrop’s Green Bag system work?
BottleDrop account holders purchase designated bags for a small fee (10 for $2) and print bag tag stickers with QR codes linking their bags to their accounts at the kiosks located on site at all bag drop locations. Customers then fill the bags with redeemable bottles and cans and drop them off at any BottleDrop location statewide. BottleDrop will count the containers and credit the account within seven days. There are a number of convenient ways account holders can spend their redemption funds:
- Withdraw them for cash at Fred Meyer or at any BottleDrop kiosk;
- Withdraw them for store credit at Fred Meyer and “push Plus” to receive an additional 20% added to the value.
- Save for education by linking their BottleDrop Account with an Oregon College Savings Plan Account; or,
- Donate to a charity of their choice through BottleDrop Give.
