St. Johns neighbors leery of potential BottleDrop center at former Dollar Tree
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Tentative plans to put a new BottleDrop center in Portland’s St. Johns neighborhood have residents on edge.
The empty, partially burned former Dollar Tree covered in graffiti along North Lombard Street is the planned location for the Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative’s newest redemption center.
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“We have families in this neighborhood. It’s a neighborhood, not an industrial area,” said Robert Mode, the owner of the local St. Johns Grocery Outlet.
Despite the new plans for the old building, Mode said he “would love to see it bulldozed, that would be the best thing.”
Instead, OBRC has a plan to turn the former Dollar Tree into the newest BottleDrop Redemption Center where people can receive a $0.10 refund for qualifying beverage containers.
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Mode said he’s worked at grocery stores around Portland for nearly 30 years and has seen problems that come with BottleDrop centers.
“I’ve also noticed once people collect their money, they go right outside about a block and purchase whatever their drug of choice is right off the dealers on site,” he said.
KOIN 6 News stopped by the redemption center at Delta Park and the green bag drop in St. Johns to check things out. People said it’s what helps them get by.
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“To be frank, I need that 10 cents back on a bottle,” said Erin Leopard, a BottleDrop customer. “I can’t afford not to bottle drop.”
The OBRC said it will improve the partially burned and fully graffitied building, arguing it will improve the area around it.
“OBRC is a responsive neighbor, and we look forward to engaging with residents in the St. Johns Neighborhood as the process progresses,” the organization said.
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“They will secure their property right, but as you can see, I am two lanes away. That doesn’t secure anything on my property so it then becomes on my dime to figure out how to protect my business,” Mode said.
“Until we really solve those problems, I can see how neighborhoods would be really hesitant to have a BottleDrop in their area,” Leonard added.
OBRC said it’s still early on in the process. The plans need to go through a Portland land use hearing before anything can be approved.
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