While I’ve never tried it, I’ve wondered...

If I buy a canned or bottled beverage in Washington, can I expect to get a 5 cent refund if I take it to Oregon?

Well, a recent blog posting by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission addressed that.

The answer — no.

“When people buy and return cans and bottles in Oregon, customers are just getting back the deposit that they paid when they originally bought the drink. If the containers were originally purchased in another state, then no Oregon deposit was paid on the container. Therefore, those cans and bottles would not be eligible for an OREGON refund.

Oregon stores and manufacturers can legally refuse to pay the 5-cent refund value if they have reasonable grounds to believe that the containers were sold at a retailer outside of Oregon.