Miniature liquor bottles will no longer be sold on Martha’s Vineyard starting next week, with a ban on the so-called “nips” set to go into effect starting May 1.
Miniature liquor bottles will no longer be sold on Martha’s Vineyard starting next week, with a ban on the so-called “nips” set to go into effect starting May 1.
Voters in Oak Bluffs and Edgartown, the only two Vineyard towns with liquor stores, approved the bans last April out of concern about litter and drunk driving. The two towns follow Nantucket, Falmouth, Mashpee and several other municipalities across the state in banning nips.
As liquor stores are restocking for the upcoming season, many have stopped ordering nips in preparation of the ban and put the remaining stock on sale.
Stores around the Island are having sales to get rid of their stock.
Stores around the Island are having sales to get rid of their stock.
“We haven’t really bought [nips] in April,” said Brion McGroarty, the general manager of MV Wine and Spirits in Edgartown. “We’ve been telling everybody for the last month what’s happening.”
Mr. McGroarty was hoping what little stock he had left would be sold before the ban. If not, the loss won’t be huge, as nips do not generally make up a huge portion of the store’s sales.
Nips have been popular on Martha’s Vineyard, but their prominence has often led to pollution along roads, bike trails and other parts of the Island.
Richard Garcia, a salesman at Jim’s Package Store, hoped getting rid of them would change that.
“As an individual, I’m very happy about it because of the litter problem and how it’ll impact the underlying social aspect [of nips],” Garcia said. “All the employees [at Jim’s Package Store] are behind it.”
Both Jim’s Package Store and MV Wine and Spirits have been notifying customers that the ban is about to go into effect. Mr. McGroarty even enlisted his niece to get the message across to non-English speakers.
“I hired my niece next week to speak to the Portuguese community so they can understand what’s going on as well,” he said.
Nip bans have become a normal sight along Island paths.
Nip bans have become a normal sight along Island paths.
When the ban was first proposed last year, it drew pushback from some liquor stores who requested other paths be taken, including a bottle redemption program. But nips still don’t fall under the list of redeemable items from the state, despite a continual effort in the state legislature.
Emma Green-Beach, a member of the Oak Bluffs select board, emphasized that the ban was something the Island could do to play its part in protecting the environment.
“Some may think that this won’t have a big impact environmentally, but it is one small step we can do locally,” she said. “Things usually happen on a state or federal or global level or in the private sector, but this is one little thing we can do to incite more positive changes.”
Comments
This is a good thing…. Walk
Ted OBThis is a good thing…. Walk around all you see is nips on the side of the road…
Next thing we need to ban is take out containers and pizza boxes. I got a pizza last week the cardboard weight more than the pizza. Also plastic detergent bottles.
As everyone involved rushes
James Kozak Vineyard HavenAs everyone involved rushes to congratulate themselves for the successful passing of this ban, it is worth remembering the sustained advocacy of Paul Doherty, who raised consciousness of this issue, while the store owners were just collecting the profits.
Well done, Paul.
Thank you for your kind words
Paul Doherty West TisburyThank you for your kind words. I was just trying to help fix something that I knew in my heart was wrong! I mentioned years ago to a friend who was also a politician on the Island that I was thinking of taking this on and he said to me, "Don't do it...you don't want to be the "face" of this issue. I said that somebody had to do it. After an article was written in the Vineyard Times about my efforts, we started finding multiple nip bottles in our yard every morning. Rather than deter me, it made me more determined to make this happen. But the credit really belongs to the voters in Oak Bluffs and Edgartown, who voted a resounding YES on having them banned!
Great job with the ban seems
Edgartown TownieGreat job with the ban seems like nobody took into account the replacement for the nips in the stores is now a 250ML bottle that is 5x that of a singular nip. The stores have them and are saying that those are the replacements. Those bottles are still going to be everywhere and the amount of liquor just increased 5x per serving. Great job controlling the "drunk driving" with the miniature bottles, I can't imagine what the bigger bottles could do. People on this island don't think.
I walk to my dentist's office
Eben W TisburyI walk to my dentist's office from Palmer Ave. The sale of “nips” have been banned in Falmouth for over a year now. Interesting that the “nip” litter on the side of the road I used to see has been replaced by empty half-pint bottles.
Basic human and or alcoholic
Lucy EdgartownBasic human and or alcoholic behavior:Small bottles not available=buy bigger bottle.Drink more.
Not less bottles, just bigger ones.More glass and plastic.Not less.
Maybe voters need a class in common sense not driven ideologies that have ridiculous outcomes.
Great news! I won’t miss
R Scott Patterson EdgartownGreat news! I won’t miss seeing empties strewn across the island. Long overdue.
I took a walk a couple of
Kathy Pratt Beverly MasI took a walk a couple of miles from my house, passing 2 schools, and was appalled at the number of empty nope bottles on the sidewalk.
I easily counted over 200 in apx 3 blocks.
I strongly oppose nips and hope tha, like Martha's Vinyard, Beverly (and other towns) will ban them.
THANK YOU. Everybody hating
AnonymousTHANK YOU. Everybody hating on this ban is not thinking straight. 1 bottle of litter is a lot worse than 4.
Next step, making alcoholism therapy and treatment more accessible here and everywhere.
For those who think banning
litterbugged West TisburyFor those who think banning these bottles will make no difference, read the Boston.com comments below from Chelsea officials where they banned nips in 2018. Check the data. These little bottles are a scourge because the promote drinking while driving and underaged drinking because they are easy to conceal and toss.
But former Chelsea City Councilor Roy Avellaneda and Chelsea Police Chief Keith Houghton said a ban in their city proved otherwise.
Alcohol-related emergency calls have dropped, data shows, while Chelsea’s downtown has seen less panhandling and cleaner streets, and, as a result, has enjoyed an overall better atmosphere in recent years as restaurants and other businesses thrived, they said.
“I’ve noticed a transformation of the community,” said Jason Owens, a community outreach worker in Chelsea, who works to connect individuals with substance use disorder and mental illness to appropriate services. “It’s absolutely beautiful now.”
There should no limit on
Albert GosnoldThere should no limit on bottle size.
There should be a one dollar deposit on all bottles.
That will end the litter problem.
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