(Photo courtesy of BottleDrop)
The Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative (OBRC), which operates the BottleDrop network, announced today that it is engaging its Emergency Fund to support wildfire relief efforts in Maui, Hawaii, and is inviting Oregonians to use container donations to support the cause.
The Hawaiian Island of Maui has been devastated by wildfires that have claimed dozens of lives, destroyed property, and ravished thousands of acres of natural areas. Having adopted the nation’s most recent Bottle Bill, Hawaii is a “sister state” to Oregon in employing a deposit return system to reduce litter and improve recycling outcomes.
Between now and August 31, BottleDrop is encouraging its nearly 1 million Green Bag account holders to make donations from their BottleDrop accounts to the OBRC Emergency Fund to support Maui’s wildfire relief efforts. OBRC will match up to $25,000 of total donations. BottleDrop account holders can direct their donations by visiting BottleDrop.com/Maui and logging into their accounts.
Oregonians can also donate OR 10-cent redeemable cans and bottles directly to this effort (and have their funds matched) by taking them to any BottleDrop Redemption Center and letting staff on site know they would like to donate them to support the wildfire relief efforts in Maui.
“It feels powerless to see the terrible news from Maui, where wildfires have claimed lives and devastated communities,” said Eric Chambers, vice president of strategy and outreach at OBRC. “Efforts like this show that Oregon’s Bottle Bill can empower everybody in the state to be part of the solution and come to the aid of their neighbors, near and far.”
Donations will be directed to Maui United Way, which is working to provide immediate relief to families and nonprofits directly affected by the Maui fire disaster. Wildfires in Maui have claimed at least 55 lives, wounded dozens of individuals, and caused the destruction of hundreds of structures.
“At OBRC we wanted to find a way to help those impacted by this tragedy. Oregon and Hawaii share a special connection through our Bottle Bills, and this effort will provide Oregonians with an opportunity to leverage the positive power of bottles and cans to help people in immediate need,” Chambers said.
OBRC will also be making an Emergency Fund donation to the Oregon chapter of the Wildland Firefighter Foundation, which helps support injured firefighters, as well as families of firefighters killed in the line of duty.
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, one of the state’s most significant policy achievements. 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 2,000 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, to create a world where no resource is wasted, and people are empowered to redeem every container — all without a penny of state funding.
About the OBRC Emergency Fund:
Launched in 2020, this fund is used to help support our communities and neighbors during times of urgent need. The Emergency Fund was first used shortly after COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, when many individuals and families were experiencing food insecurity. Collectively, our customers donated 2 million beverage containers with a refund value of $200,000 for Oregon Food Bank. Since then, the fund has been engaged to raise money for other important causes, such as supporting firefighters during devastating wildfires, funding warming and cooling shelters during extreme weather, and supporting humanitarian relief services being provided to Ukrainians through the Portland-based nonprofit Mercy Corps.
BottleDrop.com • OBRC.com • mauiunitedway.org/disasterrelief
