The Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative (OBRC), operator of the BottleDrop network, announced today that it is activating its Emergency Fund to aid with wildfire relief in Oregon and is inviting Oregonians to support the effort through container donations. OBRC’s Emergency Fund will match up to $20,000 in total donations made via BottleDrop through October 7, 2025.
Donations made to the OBRC Emergency Fund will be directed to the following nonprofit organizations providing wildfire relief in Oregon:
- American Red Cross, Cascades Region
- United Way of the Columbia Gorge
- Wildland Firefighter Foundation, Oregon Chapter
Since early June, the American Red Cross, Cascades Region has opened 12 shelters, provided 376 overnight stays and 520 meals for communities affected by this year’s wildfires. “We know this fire season is far from over and we have volunteers on standby to open shelters and provide assistance to those who need it,” said Red Cross Cascades Regional Disaster Officer Kirsten Mandala. “Our goal is to make sure no one has to face a disaster alone.”
The United Way of the Columbia Gorge launched their Rowena Fire Relief Recovery Fund to provide immediate and long-term support for those affected by the Rowena Fire. This fund will help meet ongoing needs such as housing, food security, and other critical resources throughout the recovery process. They are working with local partners to mobilize resources and lead collaborative efforts to rebuild.
The Oregon Chapter of the Wildland Firefighter Foundation helps families of firefighters killed in the line of duty and assists injured firefighters and their families. “The last few fire seasons have impacted a lot of communities, our forests, and grasslands. The WFF has been there supporting the brave men and women who have been on these firelines,” said Event Coordinator Sam Pearcy. “With the support of programs like BottleDrop, we can continue taking care of the boots-on-the-ground workers and their families after an injury or even worse, there is a fatality.”
Last year, Oregon experienced a record-breaking wildfire season with 1.9 million acres burned. According to experts, the Pacific Northwest is anticipated to be at elevated risk of significant fires from August to October. Earlier this summer, Governor Tina Kotek declared a State of Emergency due to the imminent threat of wildfires.
As of early August, wildfires burned nearly 200,000 acres statewide in 2025. Oregonians can find resources from the Oregon State Fire Marshall on how to prevent wildfires. The Oregon Department of Emergency Management has information on how Oregonians can be prepared, including signing up for emergency notifications. As they have in previous years, OBRC is working with boots-on-the-ground wildland firefighting camps to facilitate their beverage container redemptions during this wildfire season. The emergency match campaign allows OBRC and its customers to magnify their support for those impacted by recent, ongoing and future wildfires.
“We know that wildfires pose a significant threat to Oregon, and our wildfire seasons are starting earlier and lasting longer,” said Devon Morales, vice president of external affairs for OBRC. “BottleDrop customers are incredibly generous and rise to the occasion to help their neighbors during times of urgent need, which is why we are activating our OBRC Emergency Fund to match donations from customers made through BottleDrop. While we are hopeful this wildfire season will be less aggressive than last year’s, we know circumstances can change rapidly and we want to support nonprofit organizations who are prepared to assist first responders and communities impacted by wildfires.”
Between now and October 7, BottleDrop is encouraging its more than 1-million-member strong Green Bag account network to make online donations from their BottleDrop account to bolster wildfire relief efforts in Oregon. Customers can direct their donations to the Emergency Fund by logging into their account and visiting bottledrop.com/wildfire or donating directly at this link. OBRC will match up to $20,000 of total donations made through BottleDrop to the OBRC Emergency Fund.
Oregonians can also donate their OR-10 cent redeemable cans and bottles directly to this effort, and have their funds matched, by taking them to one of the 27 full-service BottleDrop Redemption Centers and letting staff know they would like to donate their redeemable beverage containers to support wildfire relief efforts.
About the Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative
The Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative is the industry steward of Oregon’s nationally recognized
beverage container redemption system and the operator of the BottleDrop network. On behalf of the beverage industry, OBRC helps Oregonians conveniently redeem and recycle more than 2 billion containers every year, dramatically reducing litter in Oregon’s special places and boosting the state’s recycling outcomes.
About the OBRC Emergency Fund:
Launched in 2020, this fund is used to help support communities and neighbors during times of urgent need. The OBRC Emergency Fund was first used shortly after COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, when many individuals and families were experiencing food insecurity. Collectively, BottleDrop 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 wildfire and flood relief efforts, funding warming and cooling shelters during extreme weather, and supporting humanitarian relief services being provided to Ukrainians through the Portland-based nonprofit Mercy Corps.
