The Oregon Bottle Bill of 1971 was the first container deposit legislation passed in the United States. It requires carbonated soft drink and beer containers sold in Oregon to be returnable with a minimum refund value. The law is credited with reducing litter and increasing container recycling. As a result of the law, items which used to make up around 40% of roadside litter now represent about 6%. But with return rates averaging 90%, its real benefit is in waste reduction and resource conservation, particularly for aluminum. By comparison, states without similar bills recycle on average 28% of their containers. Beverage distributors retain all deposits not reclaimed by consumers. 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... Bubbles of carbon dioxide float to the surface of a carbonated soft drink. ... A soft drink is a drink that contains no alcohol. ... A selection of bottled beers A selection of cask beers Beer is the worlds oldest and most popular alcoholic beverage. ... Official language(s) None Capital Largest city Salem Portland Area  Ranked 9th  - Total 98,466 sq. ... Litter in the habitat of a lizard. ...   The international symbol for recycling. ... Aluminum is a soft and lightweight metal with a dull silvery appearance, due to a thin layer of oxidation that forms quickly when it is exposed to air. ... A state of the United States (a U.S. state) is any one of the fifty states (four of which officially favor the term commonwealth) which, along with the District of Columbia, form the United States of America. ...

Richard Chambers (1921-1974) pioneered the Bottle Bill. Chambers, born in Salem, resolved to climb, hike and kayak every mountain, trail and river of Oregon. During his adventures he collected litter along the way, sifting through it, searching for solutions to eliminate it. In the Summer of 1968 he called Oregon State Representative Paul Hanneman whom Chambers knew well, after he was inspired by a small newspaper article about a lawmaker in British Columbia who wanted to ban non-refundable bottles and cans. Chambers told Hanneman he wanted a deposit put on bottles and cans to encourage people to return them to the store. State Capitol building in Salem Salem (IPA: ) is the capital of the state of Oregon in the United States of America, and county seat of Marion County. ...

The bottle issue was much larger than it appeared. Prior to the 1940s returnable bottles were the norm because it was cheaper for bottling companies to collect and wash old bottle than buy new ones. But after World War II, the steel and aluminum industries started to promote metal beverage cans. Making cans was cheap so cans became throwaways and soon glass companies pushed to ban the returnable bottle as well. Throwaways gave national bottlers and breweries an edge over smaller operations. Before throwaways national operations had trouble competing with local operations because of the cost of shipping the bottles out and then the empties back. Throwaways changed the tide, national operations were able to avoid the return shipment costs and many local breweries went out of business. The number of small breweries dropped from about 400 to about 160. Soft drink companies also consolidated their plants costing more than 27,000 jobs. // Events and trends World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrination, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons such as the atomic bomb. ... Combatants Allies: Poland, British Commonwealth, France/Free France, Soviet Union, United States, China, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, and others Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total dead: 50 million Military dead: 8 million Civilian dead: 4 million Total dead: 12 million World War II...

By 1968 alone, beer and soda companies were responsible for 173 million bottles and 263 million cans in Oregon. 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ...

Because of an attempt by Vermont legislators to approve a bottle bill in 1953, a political group was formed between the breweries, soft drink makers, and glass and metal industries. The Vermont bill did not pass due in large part to this alliance. In 1953, businesses, mostly involved in the beverage contaner industy formed a non-profit group, Keep America Beautiful to promote anti-litter public service ads. These ads were successful in diverting attention away from the beverage container companies. Official language(s) None Capital Montpelier Largest city Burlington Area  Ranked 43rd  - Total 9,620 sq. ... 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link is to a full 1953 calendar). ... Keep America Beautiful Founded in 1953, the organization is best known for the famous Crying Indian public service advertisement, which launched on the first Earth Day in 1971. ...

Chambers began a letter writing campaign. He used non-ordinary stationary and stamps to draw the attention of his intended audience. House Bill 1157 was introduced. It was given to the House State and Federal Affairs Committee. Chambers brought in people to testify for the bill. Among them were a river guide to testify about the amount of beverage packaging litter in the water and a farmer who lost 4 cows due to ingestion of glass and metal shards from beverage containers. Beverage container materials companies and bottling companies fought against the bill. Hanneman offered the compromise of not banning non-returnables but instead requiring a five cent deposit as an incentive for return. By a 5 to 4 vote, the bill was sent to the house floor. The bill nearly survived but fell 3 short when 27 of 60 members voted for it. Governor Tom McCall had already offered his support for the bill so Hanneman asked McCall to help sway the vote in favor of passage. McCall refused, advising that he didn't want a Bottle Bill in this legislative session. McCall planned to endorse the anti-littering campaign espoused by the Keep America Beautiful non-profit in 1970 and wait until 1971 to support the Bottle Bill. It's been written that this delay was intentional on McCall's part to make the bill his and is partly a reaction to negative feelings for Hanneman's lack of support for the Beach Bill that McCall had championed earlier. After its defeat, Chambers continued his letter writing campaign. Thomas Lawson McCall (March 22, 1913 – January 8, 1983) was an American politician, a Republican, and the thirtieth governor of Oregon from 1967 to 1975. ... Keep America Beautiful Founded in 1953, the organization is best known for the famous Crying Indian public service advertisement, which launched on the first Earth Day in 1971. ...

Chambers was a salesman for a Salem equipment company. He shunned attention and wanted no credit for the Bottle Bill. The word Salem can have many meanings. ...

External links

• State of Oregon's website about the law
• Photo of Chambers Receiving an Environmental Award from McCall in 1974