The new year is a time for individuals to make resolutions, and this year the state of Oregon is enacting new laws that the state hopes will improve public health and the environment.
Bottle Bill Expansion
Oregon’s Bottle Bill Expansion went into effect Jan. 1 and will extend the list of containers that can be redeemed for a 5 cent deposit to include water, flavored water, beer, malt beverages, soda water, mineral water and carbonated soft drinks, according to an Oregon Liquor Control Commission news release.
The items must be purchased in Oregon with proof marked on the container as “OR 5 cents.” In addition to the expanded list of recyclable items, grocery stores and other retailers of 5,000 square feet or more must accept bottles of any brand or size of the products they sell, even if they do not sell a particular type of the product.
This means if a store is more than 5,000 square feet and carries only juices and water, it is required by law to accept any size or brand of juice and water even if the bottle was not purchased at that store.
Grocery stores such as Safeway are hesitant about the program because of three reasons: lack of space, increased cost and sanitation liability.
“This new program is certainly going to affect the way we do business and will obviously increase our operating costs,” said Dan Floyd, Safeway director of public affairs. “Even though many of our recycling receptacles are outside, accepting a wider range of products will mean receptacles will fill up faster, and when they are full, we have to move the products into storage until they can be picked up. That is where we must be especially careful to not mix trash with fresh food.”
In order to prevent abuses of the program, the law limits the number of bottles an individual may recycle at a store of 5,000 or more square feet to 144 bottles per day and a store under 5,000 square feet to 50.
Oregon’s Electronics Recycling Law
This law provides places to drop off used electronics for free. To cover the costs of recycling the electronics, the state will require television and computer manufacturers who sell products in Oregon to register and pay a standard due to the state, said Carolyn Stein, the education coordinator for BRING Recycling in Eugene. Through the registration program, the state is expecting to raise between $350,000 and $400,000, Stein said. The law is in preparation for the 2010 legislation, which will make it illegal for citizens to drop off or send computers and televisions to landfills.
Stein is thrilled that recycling is becoming more accessible to Eugene’s citizens.
“The new legislation is a step in the right direction; if people can recycle at no cost it will keep them from just throwing valuable electronics in the landfills. If we can recycle the raw materials it will also cut down on mining intrusions,” she said.
There are currently five receptacles in Lane County that accept televisions, keyboards, media players and computers at no cost: the Glenwood Central Recycling Station and stations in Florence, Cottage Grove, Vida and Veneta.
Smoke-Free Workplace Law
Oregon is also cleaning up its air this year. The smoking ban began Jan. 1 and does not allow smoking in bars or within 10 feet of any building.
Exceptions to the law include cigar bars, smoke shops, hotels’ designated smoking rooms and non-commercial tobacco smoked for American Indian ceremonial purposes.
Despite the initial controversy the law provoked, bars such as Taylor’s Bar and Grille are not worried about the ban affecting business.
“I don’t think it will affect our business at all,” Taylor’s Manager Gia Akaby said. ” A lot of people I know are looking at this ban as an opportunity to quit smoking. If anything, I think it will help attract people to our bar who were turned off by the smoke before.”
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New year, new laws
Daily Emerald
January 4, 2009
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