Case study of
#00089 Deposit return schemes (bottle bills) on beverage containers
Oregon, USA
#00081
SuccessRegion
Implementer
State of Oregon
Timeline
Since Oct 1, 1971
Location
Oregon, USA43.8041, -120.5542
Description
The first US bottle bill, enacted in Oregon in 1971, placed a refundable deposit on beer and soft-drink containers. Within two years total roadside litter dropped ~39% by count, and by 1979 beverage containers had fallen from ~40% to ~6% of roadside litter — an ~85% reduction in container litter. Oregon's experience is the earliest and best-documented demonstration that deposits drive container-litter reduction at state scale.
Metrics
3Beverage-container share of roadside litter~40% before 1971~6% by 1979%
Beverage-container litter reduction by 1979~85%%
Total roadside litter reduction by year 2~39%% by count
Lessons learned
- Deposit value erodes with inflation over decades unless periodically updated — Oregon's original 5-cent deposit lost real value significantly by the 2000s, requiring legislative action to maintain return-rate incentives.
- Attaching redeemable monetary value to containers shifts return behaviour at scale without requiring enforcement infrastructure beyond retail redemption points.
Sources
2Documented Jun 26, 2026