Quincy wants to nip small liquor bottle littering problem in the bud

QUINCY, Mass. — Tiny liquor bottles are turning up everywhere in Quincy. The city is now looking at what some other cities and towns have done. The Mayor is working with the city’s license board to ban the sale of nips.

We spotted every type of liquor under the sun around the city. The Mayor says public works officials have been finding booze nips in alleys, on sidewalks, parking lots and even in public restrooms. “it’s not a good first impression,” one woman said. People who live and work in Quincy say it really is becoming an eyesore. “if there is a way to get them removed from the sidewalks it would definitely be a great thing,” one man said.

Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch has been working on banning the sale of all alcohol nips in the city.  Other communities already do it to help prevent littering and waterway pollution. Something Quincy is concerned about with 27 miles of coastline. “The nips find themselves getting into the storm drains and then getting out into the ocean which is obviously a problem,” Koch said.

Mayor Koch says they are also worried about the inexpensive alcohol consumption leading to more addiction especially for young people. Businesses with alcohol licenses are also being caught in the middle. “Customers bring them in and augment any drinks they are getting in bathrooms and find them all over the place,” Koch said, “how can the bartender tell when you are doing something on the side or sneak in the bathroom.”

Quincy has had sewer line issues because people are flushing nips down the drain at bars and restaurants. Not all residents are seeing the problem. “actually I don’t see them anywhere. I don’t notice,” one woman told us.

The Quincy License Board is scheduled to vote on the nip ban by summer. The Mayor telling us if mini liquor bottle sales are banned they would give package stores an opportunity to sell off their current stock.

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