Bottles, Cans and Plastic Bags

When we had purchased juice, sodas, bottled water and so forth in Salt Lake, we were not required to put a deposit on the containers.  Here in Oregon we are.  Some people don’t seem to care that they are paying ten cents extra and will carelessly toss containers away as recycling seems to be such a bother – which it is.  I was not opposed to tossing cans into the recycle bin when we lived in Salt Lake, but all of those cans and bottles add up – especially for party animals or those who drink by the pack.   

There are some areas that offer services by providing machines outside of their stores, others who have tried their hand at providing the service but doing away with the service when it becomes more work for the store who has to send employees out to empty bins, clear jams and what have you. The local store Rays has a couple of machines out front. But for those who have bags and bags of bottles, Roseburg BottleDrop Redemption Center is a really great place to go.  On November 22^nd 2017 Gabby Urenda reported this story

We went there one Saturday and waited in a line that proceeded to get longer before we were able to find a machine to put our cans and bottles in.  I like watching the machine sort the bottles from the cans.  Unlike the machines in front of Rays that deposit cans into the bottom, the machines at the Redemption Center have conveyor belts and I’m guessing people behind those belts who change the tubs as they get full instead of opening a door at the request of a customer who has brought to the attention of store employees that the machine had stopped. 

I had mentioned the recycling program in this post, though I hadn’t explored the Redemption Center at that point.  In addition to the mandatory ten cent deposit on each can and bottle, legislature has voted Oregon to ban plastic bags thus encouraging patrons to recycle or used recycled bags or pay for each bag they need to hold whatever they purchase wherever they purchase.

  Thus we have a hardy supply of bags in our car.  We rarely remember to bring them into the store.  Fortunately the parking lot is generally not that far away.  Jenna usually has a sweatshirt on and will often take it off and turn it into a temporary bag.  I am impressed out how much it will hold.