Copyright Hartford Courant
It’s a kind of tax in Connecticut but might go largely unnoticed. Yet, the “Nickel per Nip Environmental Fee” — or five cents from the state for every nip-sized bottle of alcohol sold — has been in effect for about four years now and raised $19 million for cities and towns across Connecticut, records show. That’s a happy anniversary for Larry Cafero, executive director and general counsel of the Wine and Spirit Wholesalers, In addition to the four-year numbers, Cafero also said that the revenue for the latest six-month reporting period – April 1, 2025 through Sept. 30, 2025 – was $2.49 million, an increase of approximately $45,000 over the same time period last year. The program was designed to help cities and towns provide for the collection and proper disposal of nips to combat littering. Nearly 50 million nip bottles had the fee paid for them in the most recent data. Data from the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of Connecticut shows that some cities and towns have used the funds to support recycling centers and litter-reduction initiatives. Cafero and his group have had some formidable opposition to the fee program and the way it is structured, while some have tried to get the nips banned or let communities decide whether to ban them, as they are opposed on many fronts. The tiny bottles end up in droves on roadsides and waterways because they are often tossed out of windows after use. In addition to environmental concerns, there has been worry the nips contribute to underaged drinking because they are easily concealed. Many of the bottles have been found as litter near high schools, or on the ground not far from package stores. While Connecticut cities took in the highest amounts, even a small town like Barkhamsted had 63,136 nip bottles sold, redeeming $3,156.80, records show. The bottles selling for about $1 to $5 cannot be redeemed for a deposit because machinery where other other cans and bottles are redeemed for the deposit can’t take them. The Connecticut Package Stores Association testified to the legislature that, “allowing municipalities to ban the sale of nips would place a significant financial burden on stores in towns where bans are imposed. But Cafero is a big fan. A former longtime state representative, he has said liquor store owners have an expectation when they start in the business and that includes the ability to sell the nip bottles. “After four years in action, it’s never been clearer that this program is a resounding success for Connecticut,” said Cafero. “We’ve been receiving great feedback from our partners in municipal government who are benefitting from this new source of consistent revenue for environmental projects, and we’re excited by this program’s continued success,” he said. He called the fee, “effective policy in action.” “I applaud the legislature for their innovative thinking here, and I look forward to watching this continue to benefit our great state,” he said. The table below lists the allocation of payments to each Connecticut municipality covering the six-month period from April 1 through Sept. 30, 2025. Some towns collected no fees, others took in thousands of dollars. NIP count and environmental fee by town NEW HAVEN 2,344,579 $117,228.95 HARTFORD 1,782,581 $89,129.05 BRIDGEPORT 1,679,570 $83,978.50 WATERBURY 1,615,910 $80,795.50 NEW BRITAIN 1,327,377 $66,368.85 MANCHESTER 1,270,499 $63,524.95 BRISTOL 1,258,878 $62,943.90 NORWICH 1,215,955 $60,797.75 MERIDEN 1,129,234 $56,461.70 GROTON 948,178 $47,408.90 WEST HAVEN 934,774 $46,738.70 HAMDEN 909,879 $45,493.95 DANBURY 875,005 $43,750.25 ENFIELD 848,639 $42,431.95 NORWALK 847,255 $42,362.75 STAMFORD 811,131 $40,556.55 SOUTHINGTON 751,065 $37,553.25 TORRINGTON 746,140 $37,307.00 EAST HARTFORD 743,910 $37,195.50 MILFORD 736,525 $36,826.25 NEW LONDON 724,138 $36,206.90 STRATFORD 697,881 $34,894.05 MIDDLETOWN 680,200 $34,010.00 WALLINGFORD 676,495 $33,824.75 VERNON 561,991 $28,099.55 NAUGATUCK 552,251 $27,612.55 PLAINFIELD 516,194 $25,809.70 NEWINGTON 476,276 $23,813.80 WINDHAM 452,603 $22,630.15 WEST HARTFORD 451,090 $22,554.50 KILLINGLY 450,156 $22,507.80 PUTNAM 445,102 $22,255.10 SHELTON 426,814 $21,340.70 EAST HAVEN 424,655 $21,232.75 GRISWOLD 415,698 $20,784.90 MONTVILLE 414,976 $20,748.80 BRANFORD 414,081 $20,704.05 NEW MILFORD 413,431 $20,671.55 WATERFORD 371,549 $18,577.45 FAIRFIELD 359,870 $17,993.50 COLCHESTER 353,025 $17,651.25 ANSONIA 348,979 $17,448.95 STAFFORD 347,725 $17,386.25 WESTPORT 332,847 $16,642.35 WINDSOR LOCKS 330,037 $16,501.85 WOLCOTT 322,446 $16,122.30 EAST WINDSOR 321,818 $16,090.90 LEDYARD 319,969 $15,998.45 PLAINVILLE 308,859 $15,442.95 SOUTH WINDSOR 308,390 $15,419.50 MANSFIELD 306,752 $15,337.60 WINDSOR 304,921 $15,246.05 WINCHESTER 304,405 $15,220.25 BERLIN 300,646 $15,032.30 CROMWELL 300,384 $15,019.20 WETHERSFIELD 295,780 $14,789.00 EAST LYME 291,389 $14,569.45 WATERTOWN 281,033 $14,051.65 CHESHIRE 274,530 $13,726.50 ROCKY HILL 272,407 $13,620.35 NORTH HAVEN 261,885 $13,094.25 SEYMOUR 257,740 $12,887.00 BLOOMFIELD 256,559 $12,827.95 GLASTONBURY 255,997 $12,799.85 FARMINGTON 255,307 $12,765.35 STONINGTON 252,081 $12,604.05 DERBY 246,263 $12,313.15 EAST HAMPTON 243,521 $12,176.05 ELLINGTON 241,634 $12,081.70 THOMPSON 238,793 $11,939.65 COVENTRY 217,909 $10,895.45 MONROE 216,526 $10,826.30 BROOKLYN 215,934 $10,796.70 CLINTON 205,431 $10,271.55 BETHEL 199,250 $9,962.50 OLD SAYBROOK 193,727 $9,686.35 PORTLAND 187,850 $9,392.50 NEWTOWN 185,816 $9,290.80 SOUTHBURY 185,153 $9,257.65 NORTH STONINGTON 184,798 $9,239.90 THOMASTON 177,958 $8,897.90 PLYMOUTH 176,879 $8,843.95 SIMSBURY 168,175 $8,408.75 HADDAM 160,167 $8,008.35 CANTON 155,613 $7,780.65 GRANBY 153,949 $7,697.45 HARWINTON 153,105 $7,655.25 NORTH BRANFORD 152,543 $7,627.15 TOLLAND 146,594 $7,329.70 SUFFIELD 143,559 $7,177.95 SALEM 143,549 $7,177.45 BROOKFIELD 139,974 $6,998.70 HEBRON 135,818 $6,790.90 BOLTON 135,151 $6,757.55 ASHFORD 128,829 $6,441.45 TRUMBULL 128,319 $6,415.95 CANAAN 124,026 $6,201.30 OXFORD 123,048 $6,152.40 GREENWICH 122,648 $6,132.40 WESTBROOK 119,168 $5,958.40 CANTERBURY 113,448 $5,672.40 MIDDLEFIELD 110,338 $5,516.90 PRESTON 110,101 $5,505.05 EAST HADDAM 108,294 $5,414.70 AVON 106,521 $5,326.05 ORANGE 103,324 $5,166.20 GUILFORD 102,278 $5,113.90 MADISON 101,741 $5,087.05 SOMERS 96,424 $4,821.20 DURHAM 95,025 $4,751.25 ESSEX 94,498 $4,724.90 VOLUNTOWN 94,456 $4,722.80 LISBON 93,612 $4,680.60 WOODBURY 93,375 $4,668.75 BURLINGTON 91,984 $4,599.20 CHAPLIN 89,930 $4,496.50 DEEP RIVER 88,577 $4,428.85 COLUMBIA 82,758 $4,137.90 OLD LYME 82,600 $4,130.00 MARLBOROUGH 81,652 $4,082.60 FRANKLIN 80,726 $4,036.30 WILLINGTON 79,583 $3,979.15 NEW FAIRFIELD 77,880 $3,894.00 PROSPECT 73,612 $3,680.60 EAST GRANBY 71,682 $3,584.10 LITCHFIELD 68,428 $3,421.40 RIDGEFIELD 63,532 $3,176.60 BARKHAMSTED 63,136 $3,156.80 MIDDLEBURY 62,626 $3,131.30 NEW HARTFORD 54,968 $2,748.40 BEACON FALLS 52,143 $2,607.15 HAMPTON 49,256 $2,462.80 KILLINGWORTH 45,530 $2,276.50 SALISBURY 44,085 $2,204.25 BOZRAH 39,342 $1,967.10 STERLING 38,470 $1,923.50 WILTON 37,802 $1,890.10 LEBANON 36,994 $1,849.70 ANDOVER 36,756 $1,837.80 DARIEN 35,583 $1,779.15 MORRIS 35,186 $1,759.30 BETHANY 30,975 $1,548.75 REDDING 30,003 $1,500.15 SPRAGUE 28,824 $1,441.20 CHESTER 26,199 $1,309.95 SCOTLAND 22,394 $1,119.70 NORFOLK 20,880 $1,044.00 BETHLEHEM 20,824 $1,041.20 SHARON 20,236 $1,011.80 POMFRET 20,144 $1,007.20 GOSHEN 20,020 $1,001.00 NORTH CANAAN 18,543 $927.15 NEW CANAAN 18,224 $911.20 WASHINGTON 16,866 $843.30 KENT 12,824 $641.20 ROXBURY 7,948 $397.40 WARREN 6,850 $342.50 SHERMAN 6,830 $341.50 CORNWALL 5,978 $298.90 WOODBRIDGE 4,560 $228.00 WESTON 2,584 $129.20 WOODSTOCK 2,160 $108.00 BRIDGEWATER 0 $0.00 COLEBROOK 0 $0.00 EASTFORD 0 $0.00 EASTON 0 $0.00 HARTLAND 0 $0.00 LYME 0 $0.00 UNION 0 $0.00 GRAND TOTAL 49,752,245 bottles, $2,487,612.25
