The debate is heating up in the state capitol over whether towns and cities should have the authority to individually decide whether to ban the sale of small plastic bottles of liquor, commonly known as "nips."

While these miniature liquor bottles generated millions of dollars for towns last year, they also contribute significantly to littering issues.

Rhea Drozdenko from the CT River Conservancy argues, "Nip bottles are too small to be recycled, so unlike our other beverage container sizes, they would actually clog and contaminate recycling machines."

On the other hand, Larry Cafero from Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of CT counters, "Litter is a big problem; nip litter is part of that problem. Not the way to deal with it. And we need to deal with it. What I'm suggesting to you today is that the bill before us today is not the way to deal with it."

Fees from "nip" sales are intended to support litter control efforts, but a recent survey revealed that many towns are not using the money for that purpose