Groton exploring buyback program for miniature liquor bottles
Jul. 6—GROTON — The town is exploring a buyback program for miniature liquor bottles.
Town Mayor Rachael Franco proposed a program, funded through the money the town receives from the fee on "nips," as a way to help alleviate litter from the bottles in the community.
Councilors at a Town Council Committee of the Whole meeting June 25 liked the idea, but recommended more research. They proposed discussing the idea with other local towns or Southeastern Connecticut Regional Resources Recovery Authority to potentially create a regional program, and reaching out to the state to see if there is interest in a pilot program in Groton.
Town Manager John Burt said this past week that Greg Hanover, the town's public works director, will put information together on how it may possibly work. Burt said he expects to bring the matter back to the council in two to three months.
The town also plans to purchase more solar-powered trash compactors, he said.
Ethan H. Van Ness, a state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection spokesman, said this past week that the state currently has no buy-back program for miniature liquor bottles. Revenue from the five-cent fees on miniature bottles are paid to municipalities, which "could theoretically use that revenue to fund local buy-back programs."
He said the state is not aware of any municipalities that currently have such programs.
At the Commitee of the Whole meeting, Hanover said that over the past two years, 3.3 million nip bottles were sold in Groton. The town over the past two years has received $165,000 from the surcharge, which can be used toward litter control or environmental work. He said the surcharge is not a deposit, and the machines at bottle redemption centers are not designed yet to handle the small bottles.
Hanover said the council previously authorized putting aside money from the last round of funding toward the future purchase of a vacuum truck to suck up litter on the side of roads and on sidewalks and to buy solar-powered trash compactors.
He said the town in the fall installed six solar-powered trash compactors in Mystic, and the town's goal is to add more in Mystic and other parts of the town.
Franco said her idea is to have three or four buyback days a year, potentially at the same time as the town holds hazardous waste collection events, where Groton residents could bring nips. The nips could be weighed, and the residents could then be paid for them.
Hanover suggested holding the events at the transfer station. If done by weight, the nips would have to be separated between the glass and the plastic bottles.
The proposed program would be open to only Groton residents. Hanover said one drawback is the potential for people to bring in truckloads of nips collected in other towns.
He said the town also would have to work out details, including staffing and how people would be paid. He said the nips collected would not be recycled because they are so small they fall through the screens at the recycling plants, so they go to the Lisbon facility to get burned.
Franco said that even if the town exhausted its nip bottle funding at the buybacks, and even if the bottles were brought from surrounding communities, it's a positive way to get litter off the ground.
She said the town can try the buyback events a few times and then pivot and try something different if the idea doesn't catch on.
Councilor David McBride said it's a great idea, but he suggested more planning and discussions with other municipalities or SCRRRA to see if there could be a regional initiative. He said he liked the idea of using the money now to buy more trash compactors, while doing more detailed planning for the potential buyback program.
Councilor Portia Bordelon, who also said she'd like to see more compactors across the community, suggested artwork on the solar-powered trash compactors, which she said is a good way to advertise the importance of protecting the environment. She suggested the idea of a local contest.
Councilor Jill Rusk was in favor of moving forward with getting more information on a potential buyback program and would like to see more compactors in other areas of town.
Hanover said he liked the idea of a regional approach for a buyback program and even reaching out to the state because they may be interested in a pilot program.
