Oregon Environmentalists Push to Add Wine Coolers to State Bottle Bill

Wine coolers were being mixed in tubs on the beach when Oregon adopted its tough bottle law 15 years ago--an anti-litter statute that became a model for the nation.

But now the popular drinks made from wine and fruit juice go to the beach in bottles purchased at supermarkets, and environmentally conscious Oregonians think it is time that cooler fans started coughing up the same nickel deposit now paid on beer and soft drink containers.

The liquor distributors and supermarkets disagree--and the coolers are headed for a showdown in the Legislature that could bring about the first significant changes in Oregon’s bottle law since it was adopted in 1971.

Litter Problem

Supporters of the bottle bill say the estimated 16 million wine coolers sold in the state each year are creating a litter problem that could be solved by bringing them under the law.

“Wine cooler bottles are exactly the kind of container the bottle bill was aimed at,” said William Bree of the state Department of Environmental Quality’s recycling program. “Had they been around in 1971, they would have been included.” State Sen. Jane Cease (D-Portland), already has drafted a bill that will be introduced in the 1987 Legislature.

But wine and beer distributors and grocery store owners argue that adding the wine bottles to the 800 million bottles and cans they handle each year under the bill will add to an already existing problem of storage and sanitation.

They also complain that it will not help overcome the larger litter problem created by paper, cigarette packs and plastic containers used to hold fast food.

Survey Taken

A survey conducted by the state Division of Highways found that out of 92,000 pieces of litter picked up at 30 selected locations around the state, 206 were non-returnable wine cooler bottles. This compared with 50,000 pieces of paper, 11,000 empty cigarette packs and 10,000 fast-food containers.

In fact, the survey found that beer cans, which are covered by the bottle bill, represent a bigger litter problem than wine cooler bottles.

“Most of what we see along the highway is fast-food junk, and no effort is being made to pick that up, other than with litter patrols,” said Paul Romain, an attorney who represents Oregon beer and wine distributors. “Wine coolers are not a litter problem, so why put more things under an already inefficient system?”

Grocery stores are responsible for collecting, sorting and returning all the containers to the distributors, who haul them away.

‘Sacred Cow’

“The problem we have with the bottle bill is that the grocer and the wholesaler have a lot of expense and mess they would would like to get rid of,” Romain said. “But they can’t because the bill is a sacred cow.”

“To have trash and food together in the same place is not real good,” he added.

Oregon’s bill places a 5-cent deposit on beer, malt beverage, mineral water and carbonated soft drink containers. Consumers pay the 5 cents when they buy the product and get it back when they return the empty container to a store.

Pop and beer containers sold in Oregon all carry special deposit markings and grocery stores are forbidden from refusing to accept the returnables.

Model Bill

Backers of the bottle bill have tried several times to expand it to include traditional wine bottles and plastic milk jugs. But with the exception of two minor changes, the bill is the same as when it passed the Oregon Legislature in 1971 and went immediately to the top of Oregon’s list of laws to protect the environment.

Since then eight states--Vermont, Maine, Michigan, Iowa, Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts and New York--have followed suit. Michigan and Iowa include wine cooler containers in the law.

Environmentalists insist that they will fight any effort to change the popular law and are promising to pull out all the stops in 1987 to persuade lawmakers to get wine cooler containers into the bill and off the roadsides and beaches.

“I don’t see anything on the political landscape that would make me think that the bottle bill is going to be repealed or changed in anyway,” said John Charles of the Oregon Environmental Council.

‘Working Fine’

But grocers and distributors, while swearing allegiance to the bill, are considering asking for some changes that would get the dirty cans and bottles out of the stores or at least make them easier to handle.

“We think the bottle bill is great and is working fine,” said Cheryl Perrin, lobbyist for Fred Meyer, the state’s largest chain of food stores. “But don’t assume that every product that comes out should be handled the same way as in 1971.”

Fred Meyer officials are willing to accept adding wine coolers to the bill, but only if they and other grocers can get a 1.5-cent or 2-cent handling fee. If not, they think that lawmakers should look at the entire issue of recycling with the goal of getting the cans and bottles out of the store.

“The bottle bill was passed because we had a litter problem,” Perrin said. “That problem has been solved and now we have a recycling problem. Perhaps we should look beyond beer and pop cans and look at all containers that need to be recycled.”