New BottleDrop Express bag drop location opens at Bend’s NE Third Street Albertsons
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Bend-area residents now have improved access to a convenient Oregon 10-cent beverage container redemption option, thanks to the arrival of an additional BottleDrop Express Green and Blue Bag drop location at Bend’s Third Street Albertsons, located at 1800 NE 3rd Street.
“The Green Bag program is an incredibly popular container redemption option for Oregonians,” said Eric Chambers, external relations director at the Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative, which operates the BottleDrop network. “Our network of bag drop locations continues to grow, and we are incredibly excited to partner with Albertsons to make this new convenient location in Bend a reality.”
Through the Green and Blue Bag programs, individuals (via Green Bags) and nonprofits (via Blue Bags) can conveniently redeem containers in bulk, placing metal, plastic, and glass containers all in the same bags and dropping them off at any BottleDrop bag drop location in Oregon, instead of redeeming them one container at a time.
Customers place unique QR code bag tag stickers onto their bags, which associate the contents of those bags with the customer’s BottleDrop account. Bags are counted and credited to customer accounts within seven days -and often more quickly.
Last year, over 11.2 million Green and Blue Bags were processed in Oregon, with 541,011 bags being processed in Bend and Redmond alone. There are currently over 33,000 BottleDrop account holders in the greater Bend and Redmond area.
“At Albertsons, we are committed to convenience for our customers, and we are serious about our sustainability goals,” said Jill McGinnis, director of communications, public affairs, and government relations for Safeway/Albertsons. “This new BottleDrop Express location helps us deliver on both of those efforts for our customers.”
Existing BottleDrop account holders can now use this new BottleDrop Express location just like they currently use the bag drop doors at any of the 87 (and growing) BottleDrop network drop locations, like the Bend BottleDrop Redemption Center (755 NE 2nd St) and the Bend Fred Meyer BottleDrop Express site (61535 S Hwy 97).
New customers can sign up for a BottleDrop account online, through the mobile app (search for “BottleDrop Account” in the App Store or on Google Play), or through the BottleDrop kiosk located at any bag drop location. Green Bags are also now available for purchase at the 3rd Street Albertsons (and at all bag drop locations), and customers can print their bag tag stickers at the store’s BottleDrop kiosk as well.
Nonprofits and their supporters can also participate, supercharging their bottle and can fundraising drives through the Blue Bag Program. The Blue Bag program allows nonprofits to set up fundraising accounts with BottleDrop and distribute Blue Bags to their supporters. Just like the Green Bag program, fundraisers are given unique bag tag QR code stickers to place on their bags, which ensure that the funds from those containers are credited to the nonprofit’s BottleDrop account.
BottleDrop has focused heavily on expanding the network in Bend and improving customer access in recent years. In addition to the new BottleDrop Express site at Bend’s 3rd Street Albertsons and the BottleDrop Redemption Center on 2nd Street, area residents can also drop off bags at the Bend Fred Meyer BottleDrop Express site, and can access a BottleDrop kiosk, purchase Green Bags, and print bag tag labels at Newport Avenue Market (1121 NW Newport Ave) -though that location does not include a bag drop door.
BottleDrop is operated by the Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative (OBRC), which introduced the bulk Green and Blue Bag redemption program in Oregon in 2010, as a convenient and efficient bottle and can recycling option. The program has grown each year since, with over 810,000 BottleDrop account holders and over 4,700 Oregon nonprofits returning over 11.2 million Green and Blue Bags in 2021. Bend’s 3rd Street Albertsons is now the 87th bag drop location in BottleDrop’s statewide network.
How does BottleDrop’s Green Bag system work?
BottleDrop account holders purchase designated bags for a small fee, and print bag tag stickers with QR codes linking their bags to their accounts at the kiosks located on site at all bag drop locations. Customers then fill the bags with redeemable bottles and cans and drop them off at any BottleDrop locations statewide. BottleDrop will count the contents and credit the account within seven days. There are a number of convenient ways account holders can spend their redemption funds:
- Withdraw them for cash at the 3rd Street Albertsons in Bend, or at any BottleDrop kiosk;
- Get an extra 20% by using their funds to shop with store credit at participating retailers through the BottleDrop Plus program;
- Save for education by linking their BottleDrop Account with an Oregon College Savings Plan Account; or,
- Donate to a charity of their choice through BottleDrop Give.
About BottleDrop and the Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative
The Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative (OBRC) is the industry steward of Oregon’s nationally recognized beverage container redemption system and the operator of the BottleDrop network. Headquartered in Clackamas, Ore., OBRC is a statewide, not-for-profit cooperative, formed by beverage distributors to operate Oregon’s renowned Bottle Bill program. 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 two billion beverage containers annually, protecting the Oregon we love, supporting the causes we cherish, and inspiring innovation beyond our borders – all without a penny of state funding. To learn more, visit BottleDropCenters.com or OBRC.com.
