ELR Citation: ELR 20218
No(s). 75567 (Or. Ct. App. Dec 17, 1973)

The Oregon Court of Appeals upholds the constitutionality of the state's "bottle bill," finding that it neither places an undue burden on interstate commerce nor violates the due process rights of bottle and beverage manufacturers. The legislation is a permissible exercise of the state's police power, representing a decision by the legislature that the benefits to the state in reduced litter and solid waste disposal problems outweigh the economic harm to the bottle and beverage industries. The Federal Solid Waste Disposal Act of 1970 expressly disclaimed federal preemption of the field of solid waste disposal. The law is not, as plaintiffs contend, rendered invalid by the possibility that alternative means, less likely to affect interstate commerce, might be employed, such as the "Clean Up America" campaign and the improved litter collecting machines which plaintiffs predict will be developed. The statute is not a protectionist attempt to discriminate against out-of-state industry, nor is the right to sell non-returnable bottles so fundamental as to require a stepped-up standard of review under the Equal Protection Clause. For the opinion of the court below, see 2 ELR 20643. See also Comment, Oregon's "Bottle Bill" Survives Challenges, Produces Results, 3 ELR 10112 (July 1973).

Counsel for Plaintiffs
George L. Wagner
Dezendorf, Spears, Lubersky & Campbell
Eighth Floor, Pacific Building
520 S.W. Yamhill
Portland, Oregon 97204

C. Lee Cook
Chadwell, Kayser, Ruggles, McGee, Hastings & McKinney
135 South La Salle Street
Chicago, Illinois 60603

Counsel for Intervenor-Plaintiffs Northwestern Glass Co., Owens-Illinois, Inc., Anchor Hocking Corp., Glass Containers Corp., and Brockway Glass Co.
Phillip B. Kurland
U. of Chicago Law School
1111 E. 60th Street
Chicago, Illinois 60637

Fredrick A. Yerke
Miller, Anderson, Nash, Yerke & Wiener
Twelfth Floor, American Bank Building
621 S.W. Morrison
Portland, Oregon 97205

Fred E. Fuller
William W. Sadd
Fuller, Henry, Hodge & Snyder
800 Owens-Illinois Building
405 Madison Avenue
Toledo, Ohio 43604

Alexander M. Bickel
Yale University Law School
New Haven, Connecticut 06520

Gerald Gunther
Stanford University Law School
Stanford, California 90680

Counsel for Defendants
Lee Johnson Attorney General
John W. Osburn Solicitor General
John B. Leahy Asst. Attorney General
State Office Building
Salem, Oregon 97310

Counsel for Amici Curiae Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. and Peoples' Lobby Against Non-Returnables
John E. Bryson
Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc.
664 Hamilton Avenue
Palo Alto, California 94301