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Stores only take their recyclables It is an Oregon law that you pay a 5-cent deposit on all beverage cans and bottles, yet when you go to return these cans and bottles you have to run all over town to get your deposit back. I have found some are not accepted anywhere in Medford. There is no place on the can or bottle that says you have to return these to a certain place. Why can't one place take all cans and bottles? -- Jane M., Medford Your frustration is apparent, Jane, and there's no question the recycling system has flaws. No one place in Medford takes all cans and bottles and repays the deposit, according to the Oregon Liquor Control Commission, which oversees the program. Cans and bottles can be dropped off at Rogue Disposal's Transfer Station near White City, but deposits aren't refunded. There are no state-run redemption centers that take all types and pay out the deposits, said Janet Ouellette of the OLCC. A private company could offer the service, with the OLCC's approval. Most cans and bottles are returned to stores. But stores are required to accept only the types of cans and bottles that they sell. So the easiest way to get your deposit back is to take the can or bottle to the place you bought it, which is required to refund the deposit. The state doesn't require stores to take all kinds of bottles and cans because the stores would have no means of collecting the deposits in the first place. You pay the 5 cents when you buy the beverage can or bottle. If you returned it elsewhere, that store would have to pay out a nickel that it never took in. (Send your questions to "Since You Asked," Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; or by fax to (541) 776-4376; or by e-mail to: [email protected] Please include your name, address and phone number for verification.) Today's News Index Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA