MANSFIELD — Mansfield is allocated $18,665.15 in Connecticut’s latest six-month nip-surcharge report, according to the Wine and Spirit Wholesalers of Connecticut workbook posted by the state Department of Consumer Protection.
The report covers April 1 through September 30, 2026. Its Mansfield row lists 373,303 miniature liquor bottles and an environmental-fee allocation of $18,665.15. The statewide total in the same workbook is $2,562,851.70.
Connecticut requires wholesalers to collect five cents for each nip sold to a package store, with the cost passed along to customers. Twice a year, wholesalers return the preceding six months’ collections to the municipalities where the sales occurred, according to the department’s explanation of the program.
The surcharge supports municipal environmental protection and improvement measures. This report does not establish how Mansfield has committed or spent its latest allocation, or independently confirm that the payment has cleared the town’s accounts.
The five-cent surcharge is separate from Connecticut’s refundable bottle-and-can deposit. Customers cannot return a nip bottle to reclaim the nickel, the department says.
Patch’s October 29 Mansfield report lists the same 373,303 bottles but gives the payment as $18,655.15. Eastern CT News used the state-posted workbook’s $18,665.15 figure, which also equals the listed bottle count multiplied by five cents. The reason for that $10 discrepancy has not been established.
The photograph is a file image of a miniature liquor bottle credited to Chris Dehnel/Patch, not a Mansfield cleanup or evidence of local litter conditions. This article was prepared with AI assistance from the state-posted workbook, the department’s program explanation and the attributed local report.