By Laura Bailey
The outcry over trash, especially nip bottles, strewn around the city drew about a dozen Bristol residents to a meeting arranged by two city council members to the Bristol Public Library Sunday.
“I love Bristol; that’s the reason I ran,” said Sue Tyler (R-District 2), one of the council members who arranged for the meeting. “I don’t like seeing trash around our city.”
Tyler convened the meeting along with council member Sebastian Panioto (R-District 1), she said, after several Bristol residents voiced their concern over the growing accumulation of litter on the streets and in the parks.
In attendance were Mayor Jeffrey Caggiano, District 3 City Councilor Andrew Howe and about a dozen Bristol community members.
Among the issues raised by Bristol residents, all but two of whom spoke in a free-ranging conversation, was the growing number of nip bottles found on the sides of the city streets and on front lawns.
Nip bottles are a particularly difficult problem to deal with because they’re too small to be recycled.
Connecticut passed the “Nickel-per-Nip” program in 2021, which places a 5-cent surcharge on every 50 mL container of alcohol. The nickel surcharge for every nip sold in Bristol between Oct. 1, 2021, and Sept. 30, 2022, totals $94,740.99.
By law, the funds generated from nip sales must be used for an environmental purpose. While the law offers suggestions of how municipalities can use the money to reduce trash or litter, the final financial decisions are largely up to local leaders.
In addition to the nip bottles, several residents raised concerns about accountability and blight complaints for littering and improper disposal of trash.
Caggiano, who sat in the audience, encouraged residents to reach out to the Building Department which addresses property maintenance issues through code enforcement.
“We have to find a program that maybe allows us to do something different,” said Caggiano. “At this time, all ideas are good.”
“The thing that’s working well are citations,” said Caggiano “I think the number doubled last year. What they lead to is compliance, and that’s what we want.”
Before departing, councilwoman Tyler stressed that this meeting was the first step in an ongoing discussion.
In a follow-up email, Tyler provided all who attended with additional resources, including information on where to find city meetings and agendas, and a link to a recycling video made by the Mayor’s Office and Public Works.
Laura Bailey can be reached at lbailey@bristoledition.org
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