SALEM -- Oregonians would have to plunk down a nickel for every bottle of water they buy under a bill that passed the state Senate Monday.
By a 23-7 vote and without much debate, the Senate endorsed what would be the first update to Oregon's landmark law in 36 years.
Senate Bill 707 proposes to add bottled water and bottles containing flavored water to the list of containers requiring a deposit.
The bill now moves to the House, where it may be expanded further. Rep. Jackie Dingfelder, chairwoman of the Energy and Environment Committee, said Monday that she's willing to consider adding not just water bottles but other beverage containers to the law, which was the first deposit law in the nation.
Interviewed minutes after the Senate vote, Dingfelder said she's also willing to talk about increasing the nickel deposit when her committee holds hearings early next month.
"I absolutely support updating the Bottle Bill," said Dingfelder, D-Portland. "The question is: Are the changes made in the Senate enough?"
House Speaker Jeff Merkley, D-Portland, had wanted a Bottle Bill update that included more than water bottles, his spokesman said Monday. But ultimately, Dingfelder said, politics will decide how far legislators go in updating the Bottle Bill this session.
Two powerful groups -- the grocers and the distributors -- oppose many of the changes.
Recycling advocates had started the 2007 session hoping to expand the Bottle Bill to include not only beer and pop but all drink containers. They also hoped to persuade lawmakers to raise the nickel deposit, which took effect in 1972 and would be a quarter if it had been adjusted for inflation.
But strong industry opposition led supporters to scale back their ambitions. Under the bill passed Monday by the Senate, only water bottles would be added as of Jan. 1, 2009. Future increases in the deposit amount and other issues would be settled by a task force that would report back before the 2009 Legislature begins.
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality estimates that Oregonians purchased more than 186 million water bottles in 2005. Of those, 61 million -- about a third -- were recycled. More than 125 million plastic water bottles were tossed in the trash.
Advocates argue that adding a deposit to water bottles would reflect key Oregon values -- decreased litter and increased recycling.
During Monday's floor debate, Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, asked his colleagues to join him in supporting "one of the hallmarks of our state."
"I am proud today to vote for legislation that is the essence of what it means to be an Oregonian," Courtney said. "This legislation is a part of Oregon's DNA, and although I am not a native Oregonian, at least I can say I voted for Oregon's Bottle Bill."
Courtney also noted that more Republicans than Democrats voted for the original Bottle Bill back in 1971.
On Monday, four of the 11 Senate Republicans joined 18 Democrats and one independent in supporting the bill.
A few who debated against the bill said adding water bottles to the redeemable mix would only increase the burden for grocers.
Stores are already dealing with the dirt and germs that come in with returned bottles and cans, said Sen. Larry George, R-Sherwood. "Though the goal is honorable, the result is not going to be what makes Oregonians proud."
Grocers also object to language that would allow consumers to bring back redeemable bottles or cans to any retailer and not only to where the beverages were purchased.
"It's going to be more complex, probably involve manual sorting and a more expensive system," said Joe Gilliam, lobbyist for the Northwest Grocery Association.
Until Monday's vote, lobbyists have focused their attention mostly on the Senate. Today, Gilliam said, the grocers would start meeting and talking to House members.
Recycling advocates will be meeting with House members, too. They would love to see the Bottle Bill expanded further, said Jeremiah Baumann, lobbyist for the Oregon State Public Interest Research Group.
But after 36 years, Baumann said advocates also would be thrilled to see a water bottle-only bill passed.
Even that, he said, "would be a historic expansion."
