Connecticut residents purchased nearly 180 million mini-liquor bottles, commonly called nips, over the last two years, sending $8.9 million back to the municipalities in which they were sold, according to a report from the Office of Fiscal Analysis (OFA).
In 2021, the Connecticut General Assembly passed a five-cent surcharge on nip bottles that is collected by the state and then redistributed back to the municipalities in which they were sold to be used for environmental clean-up, including the clean-up of empty nip bottles that are strewn over sidewalks and roads.
Efforts to make the nip bottles refundable through can and bottle returns, with the hope purchasers would return them to get their deposits back, were not successful due to the size of the bottles.
Over the last two years, Connecticut’s cities saw the most nips sold and the most money returned with New Haven leading the pack, with 8.2 million nips sold – roughly 60 per person – and received back $410,290.94. Hartford was the next largest purchaser, with 5.91 million nips sold – 49 nip bottles per person – and received back $295,607.32.
Interestingly, however, some much smaller towns saw higher sales per capita over the past two years. Colchester, for example, with a population of 15,555, sold 1.26 million nips or roughly 81 per person. Similarly, East Windsor with 11,375 sold 101 nips per person over the last two years totaling 1.15 million nips.
Canaan, population 1,230, the smallest town in Connecticut that is listed as having nip sales in the OFA report, sold 178 nips per resident.
On average, Connecticut residents purchased nearly 50 nips per person in the state over the last two years.
Although nips remain popular to purchase, some have advocated their sales be banned due to the litter and their potential contribution to drinking and driving as the nip bottles are often found along roads – a proposition opposed by Connecticut’s liquor and beverage industry, among others.
The town of Vernon, which saw 1.9 million nips sold over two years, returning $97,137.11 to the town, launched a Nip Responsibly campaign in September of 2023, saying that “Nip bottles of alcohol are carelessly discarded along Connecticut’s roadways are not only a litter problem, but evidence of a drinking and driving problem.”
The town partnered with non-profit organizations to use the surcharge to support litter clean-up and a “Nip Patrol,” according to the press release.
“I hear from our crews on the roadways that they see liquor bottles – large and small – repeatedly in the same spots,” said Connecticut Department of Transportation Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto. “This tells me that people are consuming alcohol on their way to their destination and tossing it out the window. That’s an incredibly dangerous habit and puts lives at risk.”
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Atleast we make the news for something
These need to be banned…having these alcoholics and partiers pay an extra 5 cents…please. another money grab for the cities. It just shows there is a huge problem that people can not cope with the daily issues in life under this horrible democratic administration.
What are our governing bodies thinking!
Nips should be banned in Ct as they are in Nantucket Mass.
Nips are consumed by people who need an alcohol adjustment to get through there work day
first, the amount set for the returns does not offset the liability. They are sold driver getting caught with an open container in their car. Secondly, they’re not connoisseurs of these beverages. They’re doing it for a buzz.
The deposit means nothing to them for having an open container in their vehicle that they want to throw out.
and finally the average public works benefits for a person who sent out to pick up these bottles is probably $25 an hour plus benefits we just come close to covering the cost of picking up this litter. Having said that nips should be banned in the state of Connecticut.