Q&A for How to Redeem Oregon Bottle Deposits Using BottleDrop

The store at which you printed the ticket should have a handheld scanner that validates the voucher for counterfeit, previously redeemed etc. If you have not redeemed the ticket and the store is refusing to cash it, reach out to BottleDrop/OBRC customer service and ask them to revoke the ticket, and reinstate the amount to your account and try the whole thing all over.

No. You can print your tags anywhere and drop off bags at any door box anywhere in Oregon. Retail stores that are marked "Partner" or "Dealer Redemption Center" with a light blue tag next to the door have no monthly limit or process fees. If you take them to an actual BottleDrop Center or a BottleDrop Express, they withhold 8% of your bottle refund, and there is a limit of 15 bags every three months.

No. BottleDrop is only for containers labeled "OR 10c." Glass milk bottles are not subject to a state deposit.

No. gallon jugs don't have a deposit. Generally, anything with a carry handle does not have a deposit.

Log into your account and click on "Manage BottleDrop Cards." Click on "Report Lost Card" to deactivate the lost card. When you request a new card, you'll get a code. You go to a BottleDrop kiosk at the store where you drop off your bags and punch this code into the kiosk. You'll get a new card at the kiosk. This can be done only at stores with a drop door, because kiosks at stores without the drop door don't dispense cards. If you still can't figure it out, call customer service.

This article is only about beverage containers. You'll have to research general scrap yards.

It seems they eliminated that option.

The cash voucher should be redeemed the same day. The BottleDrop+ 20% voucher isn't supposed to expire, but there's many reports of people having trouble with store personnel.

No. The cash ticket has to be redeemed at the center. If you were to do a "BottleDrop Plus 20% bonus," you can use the ticket at a store listed on the ticket.

It looks like you have to use the BottleDrop app, downloaded from PlayStore or Apple.

You'll see it in your BottleDrop.com account or through the app on your phone. The fee is 8% of the refund value. The fee is charged only at BottleDrop centers or "Express" drops at stores that are open until 10PM. The "8 am to 8 pm" drops that are common in the Portland area do not charge a fee.

There's no simple answer. BottleDrop locations are open from 7 am to 10 pm, but there is an 8% processing fee. If you use a grocery store spot, you can drop off between 8am and 8pm. Stores don't always clear the area after 8Ppm, so you can sometimes encounter a pile of bottles even if you show up right at 8am. You'll have to become familiar with the location. By law, the drop at a store must be available from 8am to 8pm, so if it's consistently packed full, reach out to OLCC about the retailer.

On two conditions. The store's address has to be printed on the ticket; and only if you choose "cash" option. If you choose the BottleDrop Plus, you'll get $1.20 store credit for every dollar in balance, but you can't turn this into cash.

Reach out to BottleDrop customer service in writing. Then if you don't get a satisfactory answer, ask OLCC. Grocery stores are notorious for making their own policies around bottle return that often go against the law.

The only one seems to be the full service BottleDrop at 1701 Newmark St in North Bend, OR 97459. There's a 15 bag per 90 day limit and an 8% surcharge there. Rinse and drain is really all you can do to avoid mildrew. Put the green bag in a larger, heavier-duty bag to carry to the location to avoid a mess in your car.

Blue bags are intended for non-profit organizations to raise funds and the funds from it can only be withdrawn in the form of check mailed to the organization to which it is registered.

Call the number on the back of the card or go to a redemption center in person and ask them to help you reset it.

At the kiosk located somewhere in the store where you drop off the bags. The drop door and kiosk are not usually together, so you have to ask at the store.

The system as it is, is stupid where the labels are not required to be scanned. BottleDrop loses bag sometimes, so if they're seeing accounts being credited by bag tags yet they're not seeing card scan, that will look suspicious. Also, if the account into which you're expecting funds do not get credited because of theft/vandalism/OBRC losing bags but they don't have a record of a scan, well you're out of luck.

Unfortunately border state residents are no longer allowed to have accounts.

No. The label is linked to your BottleDrop OBRC account, and it doesn't matter where you drop the bag. It's easy to do. The labels wouldn't even need a store address.

It is a term of use violation to piggy back on someone else's door opening. If something happens, there is no record of you dropping the bag off. If you call and claim you dropped off three bags, what they do is review video footage of your card access log to corroborate your claim. They're within their rights to deny your claim for bags that were introduced into the system without a scan record as people can claim they dropped off ten bags when they actually have not dropped anything off.

If you have a Bottledrop . com account, log in, hit "Manage BottleDrop Cards", "report lost" so whoever finds your card can not use it to open door to drop off bags illegitimately. Then hit "request replacement". You'll get a code. You go to any grocery store with bag drop and visit the kiosk. Push "enter code" and key in this code. You'll get a new card at the kiosk. The kiosk found at stores that do not stock cards. If you don't have an online account, then you call customer service and give them your phone # on file with the account and they'll walk you through it.

Around 90 standard 12oz Coke cans for a comfortably full bag to give you an idea of bag size. They don't pay you the same amount per the bag. Each bag is individually counted. Crunched containers aren't allowed in bags so don't purposely crunch them to fit more inside. You'll either get a warning, or they end up getting recycled without getting credited to you. If you can get to "partner retailers" spots as discussed in the article, don't try to load the bag so full, because you don't have a 15 per 3 months limit. That's how the string breaks and spills your bottles in transit.

If you're asking about the time you can hold onto the receipt from the bottle return machine before it expires, that is up to the store. The State of Oregon OLCC says "Stores with reverse vending machines may adopt a store policy that limits the time for cashing out slips from reverse vending machines. Stores should post their policy in their reverse vending machine area and/or on the slips themselves so that customers are aware of the policy and can plan their returns accordingly."

When you request a replacement, they give you a new card at the kiosk with a new code, so the old card cannot be used by other people to open the door. The bag labels you printed in the past are still valid.

Yes, you do. If you're in the Portland metro area, you could even avoid the 40 cent fee too if you use a "Dealer Redemption Center" designated grocery store drop sites. See the PDF in part 2 #3 for the full list. If you set up an account online, you can see all the accounting. The feature was made available shortly after State Auditor's office investigated them.

If they were not bought in Oregon, absolutely not. If you bought them in Oregon and they fall within the covered beverages as explained on "Oregon Bottle Bill FAQ" (look online for it), then you're legally entitled to a refund value. Sometimes, they end up not being marked because the beverage industry sometimes release products that do not comply with legal labeling requirements onto store shelves. If you have any doubt, contact the Bottle Bill coordinator at OLCC .

The store is responsible for keeping the drop off chute clear. Before you go driving around, go to the customer service desk and instruct them to clear the bottle room. If they say no, ask to speak to a manager. If you get the runaround, complain to OLCC BottleBill program (google the number) and complain, being sure to relay the date, time and the name of manager who gave you the runaround. From BottleDrop official guidelines, it says: "Retailer Responsibility: Maintain and clean the area around and inside the bottle return room. This includes moving green bags to the back of the room so that customers have space behind the drop door to place their green bags."

You have to buy the dedicated green bag. The bag has a box near the top that says to put your sticker there.