Mini Spirits Bottles Are On The Chopping Block In Massachusetts And Rhode Island

Retailers, wholesalers and producers unite to nip the plan in the bud, citing clean-up efforts to combat the litter problem in both states.

In Rhode Island, the state legislature has introduced a bill banning spirits bottles smaller than 100-ml. in size (Fireball whisky minis pictured).
In Rhode Island, the state legislature has introduced a bill banning spirits bottles smaller than 100-ml. in size (Fireball whisky minis pictured). (Photo by Portland Press Herald via Getty Images)

The beverage alcohol industry’s three tiers have joined forces in Massachusetts to accelerate litter clean-up efforts along roadways and in parks in response to nip bans as part of a campaign called Pick Up Mass. “Every year we are doing more litter clean-ups,” says Rob Mellion, vice chairman of government affairs at American Beverage Licensees and president of the Massachusetts Package Store Association (MPSA). “This year we are doing 25 to 30 of them across the state. It’s having an impact. The push to ban miniatures in Massachusetts has been going on since 2018 and there are only bans in five towns.”

Discarded empty 50-ml. plastic spirits bottles—known as nips—are just the tip of a litter problem in Massachusetts. “I’m driving down I-90 highway toward Westborough right now,” Mellion notes. “We picked up litter along this highway a couple of weeks ago, and I’m looking at plastic water bottles and bags, Styrofoam cups, and a lot of other trash.”

In Rhode Island, meanwhile, beverage alcohol retailers are participating in local trash clean-ups in response to efforts to ban nips statewide. State lawmakers introduced bill H7064 this year seeking to ban sales of any beverage alcohol container less than 100-ml. “We don’t want the ban passed, but at the same time we want to help out the community,” Vishal Modi, manager of Conimicut Liquors in Warwick, Rhode Island. “We put up more anti-littering signs and banners and have garbage pails on both sides of the store’s entrance”

The Rhode Island Liquor Operators Collaborative formed in January this year and took a strong stance against the bill, which was tabled. “We want to educate the customer,” Modi says. “We want some partnerships with the communities to stop this littering on the road. It’s not only the nips.”

Pick Up Mass (poster pictured) is an initiative that aims to increase awareness of the litter problem and combat bans on nips by hosting clean-up events.
Pick Up Mass (poster pictured) is an initiative that aims to increase awareness of the litter problem and combat bans on nips by hosting clean-up events.

In Massachusetts, beverage alcohol retailers, wholesalers, and suppliers have been working with Keep Massachusetts Beautiful. “Martignetti Cos. was instrumental in producing posters promoting picking up litter to put up at stores,” Mellion says. “This is all being done through the collaboration of the suppliers like Sazerac and Diageo, wholesalers including Horizon Beverage Group, and retailers working together to pick up litter.”

Massachusetts’ littering problem stems from the shortfalls of the Pay-As-You-Throw policy, which encouraged removal of trash cans in towns, cities, and public parks. “Now I am driving down Route 9 and I’m looking at Coke cans, plastic bags and water bottles,” Mellion says. “I am seeing more discarded water bottles than anything else.”

Mellion notes it is time for lawmakers to help reduce litter. “The way to address this is to expand the bottle bill to include water, nips, and wine bottles,” he explains. “Then take some of the money collected annually on unredeemed materials and use it toward a state anti-litter campaign. There were eight bills in this session to expand the bottle bill. The state could make $110 million to $120 million in unredeemed material.”

Depending on a store’s location, nip sales average between 7% to 15% of a store’s overall sales, according to Mellion. “The ban is not the answer. It moves the sales into another community and people bring them right back. The ban just hurts the local retailer. If there is a statewide ban, people will go to New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, or New York to get it,” Mellion says. “The real issue is we have to collectively address litter and it has to be sustained. We need the government to work with the private industry and not the just private industry working alone.”