The incentive to recycle cans and bottles will soon get a little sweeter.
Beginning on April 1, cans and bottles will be worth a dime when returned to a recycling center, according to the Associated Press.
The increase in Oregon’s bottle deposit was set in law by the Oregon Legislature nearly five years ago. The AP reports that it was decided last summer that the new increased deposit would take effect in April “when the state hit the trigger of having less than 80 percent of cans and bottles returned for two consecutive years.”
Many cans and bottles will still have the 5-cent refund printed on them despite the new law. To clear up any potential confusion, the 2017 Oregon Legislature agreed to pass a law spelling out that beginning April 1, folks will get back a dime each time they recycle a can or bottle.
People who buy cans and bottles now are welcome to save them until April to score a dime’s refund on every container for which they pay a nickel deposit, according to the AP.
Oregon was the first state to adopt a bottle refund bill back in 1971 as a way to encourage recycling. Ten other states have similar laws, but only Michigan currently offers a 10-cent refund.
