Connecticut bottle deposit would rise to 10 cents and include miniature liquor bottles under bill OK

Connecticut bottle deposit would rise to 10 cents and include miniature liquor bottles under bill OK’d by committee


HARTFORD — In a major change, a key committee voted Wednesday for a bill that increases the deposits on bottles and cans to 10 cents and expands the Connecticut bottle bill to include miniatures liquor bottles for the first time.

The tiny bottles, known as nips, would require a deposit starting on July 1, 2022, in a move that legislators said would lead to the clean up of litter, particularly in cities.

A proposal to place deposits on wine and liquor bottles was removed from the bill after fierce opposition from two of the state Capitol’s most influential lobbyists. Carroll J. Hughes, the executive director of the Connecticut Package Stores Association, said many of the package stores are too small to handle large volumes of wine and liquor bottles that would be returned by customers.

“We would have had to give up sales space — times 1,250 stores,’' Hughes said Wednesday.

Read more: https://www.courant.com/politics/hc-pol-environment-wine-liquor-bottles-20210331-xp4r6wxlkzh7vpht4jlsunonxm-story.html