With news about the amount of plastic in our oceans continuing to pour in, we loved this great new idea from a Delray Beach, Florida microbrewery (of all things). Earlier this year, Saltwater Brewery along with the ad agency We Believers unveiled an eco-friendly new six-pack ring as an alternative to those pesky plastic ones.
“The rings are completely biodegradable, as resistant and efficient as plastic and made of barley and wheat ribbons, which makes them edible for marine animals that come in contact with them,” CraftBeer.com reported. And because the barley and wheat used to make the rings are actually remnants from the beer-making process itself, the carbon footprint of this new style of packaging gets even smaller as the environmental benefits grow.
A “Sustainability Win-Win”
Most plastic rings commonly used to hold six-packs of beverages together can pose a threat to any marine life that becomes entangled in them. Cutting the plastic into pieces before discarding it may help keep animals from becoming ensnared, but plastic pieces can still look attractive to fish and other animals that could mistake the small pieces for food. Now, instead of ensnaring turtles and other sea life, the edible new packaging can actually serve as dinner for them, as the video from Saltwater Brewery shows.
Imagine a World . . .
Wouldn’t it be great if more manufacturers of canned beverages embraced this idea and adapted it for their products? Saltwater Brewery President Chris Gove sounded optimistic, “We hope to influence the big guys and hopefully inspire them to get on board.” And as one consumer in the video stated “Big guys should learn from this small brewery!”
We couldn’t agree more.
Did You Know?
We’d love to know what you think about this edible new technology. Just leave us a comment below!Resources:
Movement Blog: More Plastic than Fish
Huffington Post: Saltwater Brewery Makes Edible Six Pack Rings
Craft Beer: Saltwater Brewery Creates Edible Six-Pack Rings
LA Times: Edible Six Pack Rings
Ringleader: Penn State Six-Pack Ring Demo [PDF]
I’m new to GO Green but very excited for this movement. I don’t understand how these kinds of thing wind up in our oceans! Please enlighten me.
It is tossed in directly (many nations do not have dumping restrictions and many restrictions are ignored) or washed in from the beaches, but most of it is washed in from rivers (washed in from shores, storm drains, and illegal dumping).
Amazing idea!
Amy, this is too funny…I just shared this same video with one of my team members at conference this past weekend!! I think this is a wonderful revolution!! Thanks for posting it!
Kudo’s to this company for being so forward thinking.
Has this information found a niche on social media at all? I know that I would pay extra for this packaging…
Deborah, we hope that this and other environmentally friendly packaging ideas WILL find their way to social media, which in turn will inspire more people to “vote with their pocketbooks.” Movement members can always feel free to share our blogs with others—and earn Eco Points in the process!
What a great idea! It’s hard for me to picture something strong enough to hold a six pack of cans together can be edible by marine life but I sure hope it’s true.
Absolutely LOVE this!!! Let’s hope the “big guys” are listening!!! Thanks for sharing.
This is an amazing product!! I was horrified when I saw how the plastic rings have hurt and even killed our marine life :(. THIS is something that needs shown and used the world over! Imagine when it is the norm instead of the unique.
What a great idea!
This is FANTASTIC! Hopefully this will take off.
Edible can holders would be excellent. All plastic products should be taxed out of production and then more companies might refine their packaging to be recycled, reused, and/or biodegradable – edible is also really a good idea. One species gets packaging benefits and another gets food. WIN…WIN…WIN
This is a brilliant idea!!! We need more people like these guys who have put a lot of thought into making something more purposeful and a great benefit to an existing problem. The big companies care about $$$$ signs, not about how something is going to affect the environment.
great idea!
This is such an incredible revolutionary design that will impact the lives of not only the sea creatures but also our future as well as the future of our children. Surely this technology will influence ways to reduce waste in other products, too. Way to go guys!!
I think this packaging is brilliant, it is a shame so many of our sea life creatures had to be killed or harmed before this was put to use.The plastic band should be banned in every country. For anyone still buying products with the plastic, immediately after removing packaging from your product, please be sure to cut it up before discarding.
I have never liked the idea of the plastic 6 pack rings. Every since I had a cat to get stuck in one, back when I was a child, and die I have been against them. I Love the idea of edible can holders.
I’m a huge turtle lover and I have been horrified when I see any sea creature tangled up in or injured by plastic in the ocean. We never buy six packs or plastic straws. It’s hard to avoid plastic packaging; we have to cut the rings around milk jug lids so no curious creature gets stuck in them. I hope the idea of alternative packing like this catches on.
I love when I buy a cd if it’s in paper cd case instead of the traditional plastic. Makes me respect the artist that they are eco-conscious as well.
THIS IS THE MOST AMAZING THING EVER!!!!!!!!!LOVE IT
I love the idea of edible packaging. I have always cut up the plastic rings because it has stuck with me since grade school with the damage it can do to wildlife.
I would love to see a law passed that makes all this packaging biodegradable.
Now THAT is cool! I don’t even drink beer, but I would want to buy that just to support their product and vision!
I like to take my own clean containers with me when I grocery shop. You have the containers tared prior to filling and use them over and over. I take my Norwex vegetable bags with me and of course my own shopping bags.
This is awesome! Hope more companies choose packaging with such thoughtfulness.