NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Police Chief Mark Bailey wants to clean up the streets — of nip bottles. 

 

He proposed a ban on the diminutive alcohol containers have become a litter nuisance all over the city, but especially around local liquor stores. 

 

"We've noticed that when we have an OUI, the No. 1 thing found in their vehicle is nip bottles as well," Bailey told the City Council on Tuesday. "That used to be a can of beer, a six-pack of beer that we find in the car. Now it's primarily nip bottles, again, easily consumed, easily discarded out the window. That's probably why you see them on your yards or on roads even farther away from the downtown."

 

The nips cost $1 to $5 compared to a can of beer for $4, and have a higher alcohol content. Bailey quoted from a 2019 Suffolk Journal story that the small and easily concealable nips are seen as a discreet way to drink in public and considered "a gateway to public intoxication." 

 

He said the nips size and cost make them attractive to the homeless community, which suffers from substance abuse, but they also can provide portion control for people seeking to consume responsibly. 

 

"However, the problem that we have in North Adams is people are consuming them irresponsibly and then just discarding them on the ground," he said. "So far this year, in North Adams, we have 83 people that have been arrested for protective custody. That's for the consumption of alcoholic beverages in public right now, September 2025. Last year we had 43 people. ... So we have a problem."

 

He exhibited photographs taken around the city of piles of nip bottles. He said the areas are being cleaned up in conjunction with the Health Department and officers are interacting with people to guide them to appropriate services.

 

Mayor Jennifer Macksey noted package-store business owners in the audience and said the initiative wasn't to hinder or hurt the local liquor stores. 

 

"But we have a serious problem with nip bottles throughout our city," she said. "This weekend, on my walk with my dog, I picked up 257 nip bottles from Hospital Ave, down Eagle Street, across River and up. ...

 

"I also believe that it is for us to start putting procedures or policies in place, for us to be safer and wiser with our environment."

 

Some councilors were cool to the idea of ban and referred the matter to the Public Safety Committee. 

 

"I don't know that a ban is the answer. My question when you ban things like this is, what else do people turn to? ... Are we going to find more needles now? Is it easier to get drugs than alcohol?" said Councilor Ashley Shade. "It almost sounds like the better solution would be to implement the bottle tax on the nips because the homeless people will clean them all up and we won't have to worry about them being on the streets."

 

Bailey agreed that would be a reasonable solution but "waiting for Massachusetts to do that seems like it would be our detriment, because we have a problem now."

 

Fining for littering also doesn't work because, he said, "it's very hard for us to catch these people in the act of discarding them on the ground and then issue them a fine. And even if we do issue them a fine, they don't have any money to pay the fine, so there's no recourse for it."

 

The state has toyed with the idea of expanding the bottle surcharge for years and the Senate last year passed a bill to include non-carbonated beverages and spirits. Boston considered and then rejected a surcharge two years ago but about eight other communities have passed bans and a few liquor stores have voluntarily taken the bottles back. 

 

Bailey said Falmouth banned them in 2022 and within two years, they went from making up a third of the litter to 5 percent. Meanwhile, firefighters are picking up 20 to 30 bottles a week around the station and the hotel. 

 

"These locations are high areas of tourism and local businesses," the chief said. "People come from out of town to stay at the hotel and have to walk over multiple nip bottles just to enjoy the city downtown."

 

Nip is said to be a shortening of the term "nipperkin," a Dutch or low German word for a small amount of alcohol. A nip or mini holds about 1.7 ounces, or about a shot. They became popular for use in hotel bars starting in the 1960s, according to NiptheNips.com. 

 

Connecticut imposed a 5 cent surcharge on nips in 2021. The State Council on Environmental Quality reported more than 132.4 million nip bottles were sold in that state between October 2021 and March 2023. The state also disbursed about $6.6 million from the surcharges to communities. 

 

"It'd be good to see a five cent deposit on them, but I know that that's a state thing, and I'd rather act now," said Councilor Lisa Blackmer in motioning to refer to Public Safety. "I think the Styrofoam and single-use plastic bags are the next step, but I think this is easily doable. And I think we may need a longer than six-month lead time for businesses."

 

Councilor Keith Bona said there's three factors — alcoholism, the environment and litter. And as for litter, there's more plastic cups and bottles and fast food containers, he said. 

 

"I pick up nips around my store, but I pick up a lot more cigarette butts. And we're not banning cigarettes, but yet, those filters are plastic that are on the ground," he said. "You'll still be able to get nips in Williamstown, people could buy the nips and bring them in if they want to. We know there's needles on the street and the stores aren't selling the needles, so illegal products can still make its way here, but maybe the stores themselves can implement a refund."

 

Bona said he'd have a hard time supporting a plastic bag ban until the city stops using plastic silverware in the schools. 

 

Councilor Andrew Fitch said he had similar thoughts and was "deeply uncomfortable with the concept of a ban, the concept of government banning a certain size bottle to repair a problem that our society has."

 

The city isn't talking about banning McDonald's or Dunkin' Donuts, he said, even their fast food containers are litter. 

 

"I'm curious about us exploring more trash receptacles around town, trash and recycling receptacles, especially in some of these problem areas, as a potential addition to this solution, regardless, however, and also boosting support for substance-abuse coaching counseling."