State Hopes To Nip The Nip Problem With Vernon's Model

VERNON, CT — State and local officials Monday gathered at Vernon's town hall to declare Vernon the model town for the 'Nip Responsibility' campaign.

The campaign is an extension of the "nickel -per-nip" law that went into effect in 2021 to call attention to both drinking and driving and the habit of tossing the small bottles equivalent to one shot out car windows.

The law imposed a 5-cent surcharge on every nip bottle purchase with the revenue going proportionately to towns to help clean up the mess. So far, $6.5 million has gone to municipalities.

State officials said Vernon's cleanup efforts are what it's all about.

"As demonstrated again and again, the town of Vernon has taken a leadership role in public health and safety," Vernon Town Administrator Michael Purcaro said.

In a nutshell, Vernon is taking a three-pronged approach:

• Funding cleanup efforts via Opportunity Works, a job skills program for adults with special needs and using the help of local Boy Scouts
• Sending out public works staffers
• Strict police enforcement

Opportunity Works clients Monday were not shy about showing off a large garbage bag full of nip bottles they collect every time they hit local neighborhoods. And they said the litter is along the same routes each time.

Vernon Public Works Director Dwight Ryniewicz said the DPW staff could almost predict where the biggest volume of nip litter would be found. Streets like West Road, Center Road, Skinner Road, along with routes 30 and 83 are notorious, he said.

"So are the exit ramps," he said. "People seem to want to drink a nip while driving on the highway then toss the bottle out a window," Ryniewicz, adding that the DPW picks up "several thousand" of bottles each month.

DOT Commissioner Gareth Eucalitto said his crews also see the same patterns as the Vernon DPW.

"I hear from our crews on the roadways that they see liquor bottles – large and small – repeatedly in the same spots. 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," Eucalitto said. "Do not drive impaired. Do not throw anything out of the window. Littering
is not only bad for the environment, it is wasting taxpayer dollars, forcing CTDOT staff to spend time cleaning up the mess left behind."

Eucalitto said he hopes the campaign can spread statewide

Added Vernon Mayor Daniel Champagne, "Just look out the window at the road at a red light and you'll see how bad the litter is.

Over the last recording period — from April 1, 2022 to March 31 of this year — more than 94 million nips were sold in the state and 1.4 million in Vernon. That netted the town $70,809 in nip revenue

The mayor continued, "We're taking a big picture approach to the nip bottle littering program that is occurring across our community, Connecticut and New England. We have partnered with local non-profits to carry out litter cleanup across Vernon. Now, our goal is to identify and and address the root causes of the littering problem by appealing to people's better nature. We all know we shouldn't litter or drink and drive."

The Boy Scouts have also been chipping in, along with local liquor store owners.

Dipen Shah, who owns both the Subway and Lafayette Wine & Liquors on Route 30, said nips sales are big business with several thousand being sold at his place every month. He said a sleeve of nips costs less than a larger bottle.

Profits aside, the theory that nips are easier to hide and easy to toss out a window is bothersome and he steadfastly proclaimed he does not endorse either.

"We are here to serve our customers by providing the products they want," Shah said. "At the same time, our industry has a strong record of urging responsible use of the products we sell. We have long urged our customers not to drink and drive. We also urge them not to litter."

Ryniewicz said other towns have been inquiring about copying the Vernon program with their surcharge money.

Eucalitto said Connecticut is one of the worst offenders of DUI in the nation and the habit of sneaking a nip while driving and then tossing the bottle is widespread.

Champagne agreed and shared a story of a time when he was a police officer in Vernon. After a traffic stop, he discovered more than 100 nip bottles in the vehicle. Earlier this year, an investigation into a fatal car crash involving a drunken driver who hit a police cruiser en route to a call discovered nearly 30 nips in the car. A passenger was killed.

"Wait until you get home to have a drink," said Matt Hellman, Vernon’s director of social services. "We know that many who consume nip bottles of alcohol have more than one at a time. Do yourself and others on the road a favor by nipping responsibly."

The focus of the "Nip Responsibly" campaign is public health and safety and reducing litter, not interfering with businesses that operate legally and the people who patronize those businesses, Purcaro said.

"Given that more than a million nip bottles of liquor are sold in Vernon each year, and millions more are sold across the state, it is imperative that we raise this public health and safety issue and appeal to people to nip responsibly," said Patrice Sulik, the director of health for the North Central District Health Department.

Resources are available for people concerned they may have a drinking problem and want help, she said.