Reducing Litter from Nips

At the request of the Town Council, between the years of 2018 and 2020 the Conservation Commission and many local environmental supporters investigated the need and desire for restrictions on the use of single use plastic in our town.

While the ordinance restricted plastic bags, straws, and Styrofoam takeout containers and other items, the small plastic throwaway alcohol bottles known as “nips” remain a problem. Prior to the plastic ordinance and to this day they remain one of the biggest litter contributors in our town.

In 2021 in response to pending legislation at the state level, The Conservation Commission conducted another public survey finding that 92% of respondents found nips bottles to be a litter problem, and around 65% of local respondents were in favor of eliminating them altogether. The Town communicated to the state its support for various nips limiting bills that were on the table, and the state ended up passing SB1037 which put a 5-cent surcharge on each nips bottle sale.

The legislation requires:

(1) wholesalers to remit the surcharges to the municipalities in which the containers were sold and

(2) the municipalities to use the remitted funds for environmental measures aimed at reducing solid waste or reducing the impact of litter (§ 10). These measures include things like hiring a recycling coordinator; installing storm drain filters to block solid waste (including beverage container debris); or purchasing a mechanical street sweeper, vacuum, or broom to remove litter and other debris from streets, sidewalks, and abutting lawn and turf areas.

The current plan the Town Council has adopted is to allocate 15% of the 2023 Nip funds received to the City of Groton then split the remaining funds 50/50 with 50% to Parks and Recreation solar compactors and composite trash barrels and the remaining 50% to Public Works to use towards mini trash vacuum vehicle.

To date the Town has received $80,000 in Year 1, and $90,000 in Year 2 of surcharge payments.

We want to know what the residents think the town should be doing to effectively control empty nips bottles in our community.