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'Great Nip Pickup Challenge' collects more than 55,000 nip bottles in 90 days


In just 90 days, more than 55,000 alcohol nip bottles have been collected across the Ocean State. (WJAR)
In just 90 days, more than 55,000 alcohol nip bottles have been collected across the Ocean State. (WJAR)
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In just 90 days, more than 55,000 alcohol nip bottles have been collected across the Ocean State.

"We've picked up nips in every single city and town in Rhode Island from Woonsocket to Westerly from Barrington to Block Island," Bill McCusker with Friends of the Saugatucket said. "We're finding them on on and off ramps of highways and parking lots in the areas of liquor stores, so it's a big problem."

Friends of the Saugatucket and Save The Bay teamed up to collect the nips and bring awareness to the issue.

"It's the single most abundant thing that we've been finding in the rivers when we do river cleanups, because they can fit down a storm drain and make their way out into the rivers, and then make their way out to the ocean," McCuster said.

Adam Kovarsky with Save The Bay told NBC 10 News, "Plastic never really breaks down completely. It just gets tinier and tinier and tinier, and animals are eating them, we're eating the animals. They're even found in human bloodstream."

"We're not even talking about a whole year," Kovarsky added. "This is just a month and-a-half, 55,000 is a phenomenal amount of stuff to see."

They're also pushing for the state legislature to pass the "bottle bill" which will go before the House environmental committee this week.

"The bottle bill with a 10-cent deposit on these things will give people reason to pick them up," McCuster said. "This'll be worth a dime. If they pick up 200, that's $20 and it's going somebody's gas tank and it'd be paid for by the littler bug threw it out in the first place."

The RI Liquor Store Association has opposed similar bills in the past. Those bills died in committee.

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