Bottle Hunting season has begun!
The Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative released the first clues Wednesday for the 2022 Oregon Hidden Bottle Hunt.
Six commemorative bottles have been hidden around the state of Oregon to celebrate more than a half-century of Oregon’s Bottle Bill. Each bottle has been placed in parks and trails throughout the state.
The hunt is divided into six geographical zones. Deschutes, Jefferson, Crook and Harney counties are in Zone 4. Klamath, Lake, Josephine and Jackson counties are in Zone 3. Eastern Oregon is in Zone 5. Southwest Oregon is in Zone 2 while Zone 1 has been split into an east and west region covering Portland and Northwest Oregon.
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Five daily clues as to the bottles’ locations will be revealed through Sunday.
Zone 3 Day 1 clue
The day is here, the time has come
Crack the clues, and you’ll have won
I’ll tell you now the bottle’s not on the playa
It’s hidden in a county named after aging carya
Zone 4 Day 1 clue
Reduce the field down to two
To find Zone 4’s hidden bounty
Seek Seek Qua-t you want to,
But not in this namesake county
Don’t get stuck in a porcine battle
Cut Mad Bear’s county that’s replete with cattle
Zone 5 Day 1 clue
If numbers aren’t you’re thing,
you may want to further consider 21’s meaning.
However, be sure to stay clear of a Victorian’s fling,
with an 18-years-old mayor leading.
All clues can be found on the BottleDrop website.
The green, refillable bottles come with a small, Oregon-shaped tag that says “The Oregon Bottle Bill: Promoting a legacy of recycling since 1971.” They will come with a small bag to keep the bottle in.
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The winners get to keep the bottle and will get to choose one of the 5,000 BottleDrop Give nonprofit partners to receive a $1,000 donation.
Important Bottle Hunt rules
- Do not trespass on private property. All bottles are hidden in parks or trails open to the public.
- Do not go inside any buildings to look for bottles. All bottles are hidden outside.
- Do not dig for the bottles or otherwise damage/destroy any plants or structures at the park/trail, and bottles will not be hidden in any community garden spaces. The bottles may be concealed but will not be hidden in places that require damaging property in any way. You do not need to dig underground or destroy anything to access the bottles, and doing so is prohibited.
- Abide by any park/trail hours while you are hunting.
The Oregon Bottle Bill, signed into law on July 2, 1971, was the nation’s first beverage container redemption system that allowed people to get money back for returning bottles.
OBRC said the Oregon redemption rate was 83.9% in 2021, with Oregonians returning nearly 2 billion containers for recycling.
