Brewery invents edible six-pack rings to save hundreds of thousands of marine animals’ lives
Florida’s Saltwater Brewery uses materials left over from the beer making process
Your support helps us to tell the story
As your White House correspondent, I ask the tough questions and seek the answers that matter.
Your support enables me to be in the room, pressing for transparency and accountability. Without your contributions, we wouldn't have the resources to challenge those in power.
Your donation makes it possible for us to keep doing this important work, keeping you informed every step of the way to the November election
Andrew Feinberg
White House Correspondent
For all the plastic rings that conveniently hold your beer cans together but also have terrible consequences for the world’s oceans, a brewery may have found an answer.
Using wheat and barley remnants from the brewing process, Saltwater Brewery in Florida has devised a 100 per cent biodegradable, compostable and edible form of six-pack rings.
In a promotional video, the brewery reveals that of the 6.3 billion cans of beer Americans drank last year, 50 per cent were in cans and most of the plastic rings binding them together ended up in the ocean.
According to the company, globally the presence of these six-pack rings in the ocean sees an estimated one million sea birds die, while 100,000 marine mammals and sea turtles become trapped or ingest the material and perish.
A journal in the US Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences estimates that currently 90 per cent of seabirds would have ingested plastic, while by 2050 this figure will rise to 99 per cent.
The consequences plastic can have on marine animals was brought to the world’s attention last year, when footage of a sea turtle with a plastic straw stuck in its nostril shocked viewers.
Plastic can reach the sea by a number of indirect ways, such as being blown from nearby bins are travelling from drains and pipes into the sea, making responsible disposal of such items key to reducing marine pollution.
Claiming their product to be as resistant and efficient as plastic rings, Saltwater Brewery hopes the rest of the industry will follow their lead.
“We want to influence the big guys and inspire them to get on board,” said Chris Gove, President of Saltwater Brewery, as well as save hundreds of thousands of marine animals’ lives.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments