[masraum]

Pretty darn cool.



History, Travel, Arts, Science, People, Places | Smithsonian

Environmentalists and wildlife lovers have worried about six-pack rings since the late 1970s when the plastic rings became the poster child for trashed beaches and oceans. Though the direct threat of six-pack rings may be overblown, driven by heart-wrenching images of strangled turtles and seabirds, the problems caused by plastic in the oceans is not. That’s why Saltwater Brewery in Delray Beach, Florida, recently developed a biodegradable, compostable alternative to the plastic rings.

Traditional six-pack rings are made from LDPE, a plastic that degrades in sunlight into small pieces that can be ingested by birds and other wildlife. But the new rings are engineered from barley and wheat byproducts left over from the brewing process.

The resulting six-pack carrier is strong enough to lug six cans of brew but is edible for sea creatures and naturally decomposes over time. Currently, Saltwater is the only brewery using the packaging, co-developed with the advertising agency We Believers. But over time they hope other breweries will adopt the technology, which will bring the price down.

“We hope to influence the big guys,” Saltwater president Chris Gove says in a video, “and hopefully inspire them to get onboard.”



Read more: History, Travel, Arts, Science, People, Places | Smithsonian
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