Updated
A day after the Edgartown select board opted to move forward with a warrant article that would ask town voters to decide whether to prohibit the sale of “nips” — bottles of alcohol under 100mL — the Oak Bluffs select board unanimously approved a matching article for their voters to consider.
Previously, Oak Bluffs had tabled the discussion and the vote to ensure the town was on the same page with nearby Edgartown — the only other town on Island that sells the miniature alcohol containers.
At their respective select board meetings this week, Oak Bluffs town administrator Deborah Potter and Edgartown town administrator James Hagerty emphasized that potential success and impact of the proposed ban would ride on the alignment of both towns regarding the issue.
Per the warrant language, the Oak Bluffs article “will only become effective if it is also passed by the Town of Edgartown at their April town meeting of 2023.”
On Tuesday, Potter also said she’s reached out to other municipalities in the commonwealth that have enacted similarly crafted bans to see if there’s been a notable difference in litter volume.
“Falmouth has noticed a decrease in the nips they were picking up,” she said, adding that they reported no issues regarding compliance by vendors.
She said Falmouth hasn’t had a problem getting rid of their nip stock before the ban went into effect — a concern previously raised among some Oak Bluffs retailers.
But a number of other towns that have recently passed the ban —such as Nantucket — lack statistical data to determine how those towns have fared so far, Potter said.
The article was recommended by the Oak Bluffs financial advisory committee in a 8-1 vote before being approved by the select board.
Both town meetings will take place April 11 at 7 pm, at the Old Whaling Church in Edgartown, and the Performing Arts Center at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School in Oak Bluffs.
Back in the day when I owned and operated Offshore Ale, I’d sometimes take a break, drive out to the little bridge along Beach Road, then walk the bike path for a mile or two before returning to work.
It was a complete shock to discover that the rosa rugosa and shrubbery along the way was covered in trash that was predominantly discarded nip bottles and losing scratch tickets by the thousands.
One could draw some interesting conclusions about this from a sociological standpoint but suffice to say, I wholeheartedly support the ban on nip bottles.