New state data show that Oregonians are returning fewer beverage bottles to redeem their 5-cent deposit, putting the state on track to double the deposit to 10 cents per bottle in 2017.
Figures released by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission on Wednesday showed that just over 68 percent of bottles were redeemed in 2014, down nearly three points from the year before.
Under a 2011 law aimed at stemming the downward trend in bottle redemption, the deposit is slated to rise Jan. 1, 2017, if the redemption rate does not stay above 80 percent for two consecutive years.