By Cary Shuman
Sen. Sal DiDomenico appeared at the request of the City Council Monday night to talk about the statewide bottle bill that he is sponsoring with the support of Rep. Joseph McGonagle, who is co-sponsoring the effort along with other state representatives.
Councilor-at-Large Katy Rogers opened the discussion, summarizing why she requested the senator’s presence at the meeting.
“For a few years in Everett, we have been discussing what to do about the litter caused by nip [miniature] bottles,” said Rogers. “Simultaneously, there’s been a lot of effort at the state level to address this issue.”
Rogers added that the issue of banning the miniature bottles has been before the Everett Licensing Board, “and there were passionate opinions on both sides of this issues, and ultimately the Licensing Board left it at they would like to see some collaboration with City and our state representatives for a solution, rather than taking the action of banning nips exclusively in the City of Everett.”
As expected, DiDomenico was very responsive to the Council and very thorough in his actions at the state level.
“I filed a bill to add bottles of a certain size – that encompasses all the nips that are produced and sold in our community – to be added to a [more comprehensive] bottle bill, which means that a deposit to the actual bottle itself will be five cents,” said DiDomenico.
DiDomenico said he and the bill’s co-sponsoring agreed that his bill would best address the reoccurring problem of nip bottles littering Everett streets and creating a danger to the city’s waste system.
DiDomenico told the Council that the bottle bill is currently in the Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy Committee.
“I testified in favor of it – of course, it’s my bill,” said DiDomenico. “I feel confident that this is the session (2025-26) that it will happen (passage).”
Rogers asked DiDomenico if his bill would include water bottles as well, not just exclusively nips. He responded that his bill would be attached to the larger bill that would include water bottles (and sports drinks).
Ward 3 Councilor Anthony DiPierro thanked the senator for his efforts and proposed that a letter be sent to the state in support of the bill.
“I just want to thank you for your work on this bill,” said DiPierro. “It does seem like a fair compromise that addresses the litter and doesn’t negatively impact the business community. I think this Council should send a resolution in support of the bill. I think Councilor Rogers should be the main sponsor, and I would gladly sign on.”
Ward 5 Councilor Robert Van Campen, who said he supports the bill, asked about a potential date for the bill’s passage.
“Do you have a sense of timing? And the reason I ask is that our city is dirty and this is one way to alleviate that,” said Van Campen.
DiDomenico anticipates that the bill will face a vote for approval before the end of the current two-year session which is August, 2026.
“The good news is that we’ve been working on this bill for a little while, so the fact that we have a head start this session on this particular topic bodes well for it to pass sooner than later,” said DiDomenico.
Councilor-at-Large Stephanie Smith asked how long it would take to implement the bill following its passage.
“There will be a grace period with the product that will still be on the shelves,
but in the next [cycle] of buys, they will have to implement it with a deposit on the bottle, so it happens pretty quickly,” replied DiDomenico.