BottleDrop customers give by returning bottles, cans — $11 million over 11 years

PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- In celebration of Giving Tuesday – and to inspire others to give this holiday season – the Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative is spotlighting the BottleDrop customers who have donated $11 million to organizations across Oregon in the last 11 years.

Through programs like BottleDrop Give, High-Volume Plant Donations and the recently launched Emergency Community Fund, customers have donated their containers and their deposit balances to more than 3,500 participating nonprofits in the last decade.

“Our customers inspire us every day with their generosity,” said Jules Bailey, Chief Stewardship Officer for OBRC. “This has been a particularly difficult year for everyone, and our community has rallied to support a lot of great organizations. I’m proud of the success of our programs and am excited to see what the next decade brings.”

In 2009, OBRC launched the High-Volume Plant Donation program, which allows groups to collect and drop off large volumes of containers to redeem for money toward their organizations. These container drives continue to be a successful way for nonprofits to raise funds.

In 2015, OBRC introduced the Blue Bag program, which lets BottleDrop users transfer funds from their online accounts to their favorite nonprofits or contribute containers to specific Blue Bags acquired from the nonprofit.

And in 2020, in response to the Covid-19 epidemic, OBRC created the Emergency Community Fund so BottleDrop users could contribute to specific causes that are in critical need, including the Oregon Food Bank and firefighting organizations. 

"Together, BottleDrop, community supporters and the Oregon Food Bank have helped hundreds of thousands of Oregonians by filling countless Blue Bags with more than 2.3 million redeemable bottles and cans,” said Kyle Hummel, Corporate & Community Relations Officer for OFB. “Together we have made a statement that what is causing hunger isn't acceptable. We will end food insecurity and we will emerge stronger together."

The Albany Fire Fighters Community Assistance Fund (AFFCAF) is another organization that has benefited from the support of OBRC and its customers. The nonprofit has participated in the BottleDrop program since January 2019.

“In 2020, AFFCAF had to curtail our other major fundraising events, and we weren’t sure how we could continue our community outreach efforts over the next year,” said the AFFCAF’s Lorri Headrick. “As part of the emergency community donation drive during Oregon’s wildfires, AFFCAF received a generous $7,500 donation from bottle and can donors. What a great way to support nonprofits during this difficult year.”

During this season of giving, OBRC encourages everyone to visit https://www.bottledropcenters.com/donate-nonprofits/  to find a nonprofit to support. Donating has never been easier, and the need has never been greater. OBRC supported participating non-profits by matching 20% of funds raised during the Holiday Give promotion in November and will provide additional donations during the 12 Days of Give-Mas celebration that starts December 12.

Nonprofits who would like to sign up to participate in the Blue Bag or High-Volume Donation Plant programs should visit https://www.bottledropcenters.com/raise-money/.

ABOUT OBRC

The Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative (OBRC) is the industry steward of Oregon’s nationally recognized beverage container deposit program. Headquartered in Clackamas, OBRC is a statewide not-for-profit cooperative of the beverage industry. OBRC helps keep Oregon beautiful by providing outstanding services to partners, distributors, retailers and the public for the recovery, reuse and recycling of beverage containers. Through OBRC’s BottleDrop Redemption Centers and container pickup service for more than 2,500 retail partners, the co-op recycles around 2 billion beverage containers annually, protecting the Oregon we love, supporting the causes we cherish and inspiring innovation beyond our borders – all without a single penny of state funding. To learn more, visit BottleDropCenters.com or OBRC.com.