Need to Know: St. Johns Bottledrop

What is all the fuss about a bottle return?

For those living in North Portland, you may have heard from your neighbor or read something online about the BottleDrop controversy gripping the neighborhood. What is this issue, and why should you care? Let me walk you through this current issue and explain how I’ve been working to represent the community and hear their concerns.

Location:

The former Dollar Tree building at 7740 N Lombard St. This building was the scene of a 2-alarm fire in March of 2022. (https://www.koin.com/local/multnomah-county/dollar-tree-goes-up-in-flames-roof-partially-collapses/) Since then, the building has remained vacant, guarded by a small fence and accumulating an increasing amount of graffiti.

The Buyer:

The Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative (OBRC) purchased the building and parking lot. OBRC is the organization tasked with facilitating the recycling program of the Oregon Bottle Bill. They operate the BottleDrop facilities across the state, some as stand-alone and some connected to grocery stores.

The Issue:

Local residents in the area came to learn that OBRC is seeking zoning approval to develop the former Dollar Tree building into a BottleDrop facility. It is unclear whether the intention is to close the current BottleDrop site at Delta Park or if this facility would be in addition to the current North Portland facility.

Why this Matters:

It didn’t take long for word about the proposed BottleDrop to spread like wildfire through the local residential and small business communities. While most Oregonians have positive opinions about the recycling efforts championed by the Bottle Bill, there are significant safety and livability challenges that surround the can deposit facilities.  The Delta Park facility near by faced recent litigation from the landlord over these issues, and many employees from that area have been vocal about their experience working nearby. Additionally, recent reporting from the Willamette Week has shed light on the relationship between the bottle redemption and the current fentanyl crisis (https://www.wweek.com/news/2024/02/07/fentanyl-threatens-oregons-cherished-bottle-bill/). Most recently, Governor Kotek suspended redemptions at certain locations in Central City specifically in response to their role in the ongoing fentanyl crisis (https://www.wweek.com/news/2024/02/29/kotek-temporarily-suspends-requirement-that-downtown-safeway-and-plaid-pantry-accept-can-and-bottle-returns/).

 The proposed Dollar Tree site location effects both the residential community and small business district of St. Johns. The surrounding residents have concerns that reports of drug dealing related to can returns will lead to increased criminal activity near their homes. Every resident in Portland deserves to have a safe home. The small businesses in the area fear that they cannot endure any marginal increase in local business crime. As a member of the St. Johns Boosters’ Safety and Livability committee, I’ve been actively involved with the efforts to reduce crime in the area. Unfortunately, the city remains unable to increase any resources for public safety to the area. For an area of North Portland that is already stressed with unproportionally high rates of crime and behavioral health issues, it is reasonable to have concerns about the city’s ability to react to additional incidents in the area.

The knee-jerk reaction from some people reading this will be to assume the people opposed to this site are a bunch of NIMBYs. I want to assure you that the community members that I know in St. Johns are some of the most patient and compassionate Portlanders when it comes to the rise in homeless and behavioral health issues. Specifically, the neighbors surrounding the area known as “the cut,” have been dealing with a significant increase in property crime over the past few years. Small business owners in St. Johns have become self-trained in de-escalation techniques as they are often the only ones around to assist individuals in crisis that wander the district.

The unfortunate truth is that our current bottle redemption system has transitioned to become the income of last resort for those facing financial struggles in our community. If we are OK with that, we need to invest in reforming our procedures to make sure that the process is safe for those using the facilities and those that live and work near them. We cannot pretend that everything is fine with the current system.

What I’m Doing to Help:

When this story first became public, myself and other member of the St. Johns business community immediately jumped into action. Additionally, some local community residents began their organized push to express their opposition. Led by a former chair of the St Johns Neighborhood Association, the first line of defense from local community members has been to challenge the zoning associated with the current building. The argument in a nutshell is that BottleDrop facilities act primarily as a waste transfer site, something that is not currently appropriate for the residential neighborhood of the proposed site.

While the zoning question is working its way through the local commissions, there has also been an organized messaging and outreach campaign to make everyone aware of the proposed site. I was able to facilitate the first of many local TV news spots on KATU Channel 2 (https://katu.com/news/local/a-potential-bottledrop-location-in-the-st-johns-neighborhood-causes-concern). I have also been working closely with the organizers of the main effort and have offered to participate in future media requests with my perspective as a business owner on Lombard St.

For this issue, my experience as a small business owner and my role as a candidate for city council have both been useful tools. My role on the Boosters is to advocate for the St. Johns business community, while as a candidate my advocacy expands to all of District 2. I do not believe there is a community need for additional BottleDrop facilities, especially in the proposed location. There are however many understandable concerns about crime, pedestrian safety, trash, and the impact on the small business community. Those reasons alone are enough for me to strongly oppose this proposed BottleDrop site. I will continue to stay engaged on this issue. Many people have reached out to the campaign for updates on the situation and how they can help. Please continue to stay engaged and send me a message with any questions that you have.

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