The Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative (OBRC) is hosting the 2022 Hidden Bottle Hunt Wednesday, July 6-Sunday, July 10 by hiding six commemorative bottles in parks and trails throughout the state. Clues for the statewide hunt will be posted daily on the Oregon BottleDrop website, obrc.com, leading treasure hunters to the final hiding places.Â
“Last year’s Hidden Bottle Hunt was the first of its kind, hosted to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Oregon Bottle Bill,” said Eric Chambers, external relations director for OBRC, the not-for-profit cooperative that serves as the operational steward of the Bottle Bill and operates the BottleDrop network. “It was so much fun and was so successful at raising awareness about the legacy of Oregon’s Bottle Bill that we decided to do it again.”
Like last year, the 2022 Hidden Bottle Hunt will comprise six separate, simultaneous hunts, geographically dispersed in parks and trails across Oregon. OBRC will release one clue per bottle per day, leading hunters to the final hiding spots.
The lucky winners will get to keep the commemorative bottle and select a BottleDrop Give nonprofit partner to receive a $1,000 donation through BottleDrop’s Containers for Change program. Over 5,000 nonprofits across Oregon raise funds for their organizations through BottleDrop’s Give program.
July marks the 51st anniversary of the Oregon Bottle Bill, which Governor Tom McCall signed into law on July 2, 1971. It established the nation’s first beverage container redemption system and it has helped keep Oregon clean and litter free for over five decades. Oregon’s Bottle Bill is also among the most successful in the nation. In 2021, nearly two billion containers were returned for Grade-A domestic recycling.