Updated
At their respective annual town meetings Tuesday evening, voters in Oak Bluffs and Edgartown approved a new bylaw prohibiting the sale of nips — single-use containers of alcohol under 100mL.
Oak Bluffs and Edgartown are the only towns on the Vineyard that sell the miniature bottles. The ban, which will go into effect in the beginning of May next year, was first recommended to town select boards in an effort to mitigate pervasive littering.
Supporters of the ban have also emphasized the importance of cutting down, and eventually doing away with, single-use containers and plastics.
Despite the ban having been on the town’s radar for nearly a decade, the newest iteration of the conversation follows Nantucket’s successful enactment of a similar restriction.
Nantucket’s new bylaw aimed at reducing litter was approved overwhelmingly by voters at its annual town meeting in 2022.
Previous attempts to ban the small alcohol bottles on Martha’s Vineyard had all failed to gain the traction needed to move forward, unlike in other towns across the commonwealth: Falmouth, Chelsea, Mashpee, Newton, and Wareham already have bans in place; a handful of other municipalities have plans to do the same.
Tuesday’s bylaw approval now has Oak Bluffs and Edgartown as part of that initiative.
In Oak Bluffs, the warrant article proposing the bylaw passed overwhelmingly, with no discussion and no more than three opposers. However, per the language of the proposed bylaw, the ban would only take effect if an identical article presented to Edgartown voters also passed.
Around an hour after Oak Bluffs’ vote, the ban was officially approved through majority support in Edgartown.
Edgartown voters had a lengthy discussion over banning nips — including a few proposed amendments that failed. But ultimately the proposal passed with a voice vote, overwhelmingly enough not to need a hand count.
A representative of MV Wine and Spirits proposed limiting the nip ban to just plastic bottles, rather than both glass and plastic. The amendment was heartily shot down.
Edgartown resident James Joyce proposed an amendment that would carry the ban beyond liquor bottles to all small plastic bottles, like energy drinks. But that was shot down after concerns were raised about the impact to healthcare.
A motion to indefinitely postpone the article by proponents of the industry failed as well.
Edgartown resident Jim Oakes said he favored the ban for the amount of trash nips generate. “My wife and I pick up a couple hundred nips twice a year,” Oakes said, and the audience erupted with applause.
Some voters did ask if there was any study done to look at the impact on alcohol consumption, suggesting that patrons might just buy larger bottles of liquor and drink more. But Edgartown voters heard enough, and voted the article through.
Some opponents also asked town moderator Steve Ewing if there was still a quorum at town meeting before the vote. At the beginning of town meeting, the moderator wasn’t able to call a quorum until a half-hour after the initial start time. But Ewing said there was still a quorum, and the vote went through.
Sam Houghton contributed to this report.
