Connecticut Beer Pouch Bill Needs Final Approval

By Eileen McNamara

Connecticut consumers could soon be guzzling their favorite brew out of pouches if Gov. Dannel P. Malloy approves a bill to allow the sale of the so-called beer pouches. 

The pouches are similar to ones in which juices are sold and Connecticut is the last state in the nation to allow beer and other malt beverages, including the Smirnoff Ice brand of drinks, to be sold in the containers, according to the blog Capitol Watch.

The Connecticut House in April approved the plan and last week the state Senate backed it as well. 

House Bill 6540 now heads to Malloy for his signature. It's not clear, however, whether the governor will sign the bill since the state's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection opposes it.

The DEEP argues that the pouches are not easily recycled because the plastic containers also are made from small amounts of metal.

The Beer Pouch website cites a national packaging study by the Boston-based Tellus Institute for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency during the 1990s, which found, "the aseptic pouch package has one of the lowest environmental impacts of any beverage container."

"For single-serving packages," the study concludes, "the recycled aluminum can and the aseptic package have the lowest environmental costs, while the virgin aluminum can has the highest environmental cost."