How many of us have seen the videos of turtle or any sea creatures strangled on plastic rings? It’s very heartbreaking to know that something that we use for granted is harming our environment. The brewing industry use these rings a lot, and in an effort to reduce the impact to the ocean especially, Florida-based Saltwater Brewery has worked on edible six pack rings. These invention will save the lives of marine animals.
Edible Rings Facts
A study by the journal Science in 2015 stated that “as much as 13 million tons of plastic ends up in the sea each year”. A report by the Ellen McArthur Foundation even mentioned that by 2050 the plastic in the ocean will be greater than the fish. Plastic bottles, food wrappers, plastic bags and discarded fishing equipment are going to be the major cause of ingestion or entanglement.
The Delray Beach craft brewery just launched the world’s first edible six-pack rings after teaming up with We Believers (an ad agency). The packaging is made from wheat and barley, which is safe to eat both for humans and animals. Turning something dangerous into food that can easily decomposed. All these without the hustles of plastic waste that may take hundreds of years to disintegrate.
These edible rings are slightly more expensive to produce but are as strong as the plastic ones. But Saltwater Brewery President Chris Groves is positive that he can reduce the price by inspiring big guys to get on board. He wishes that more big companies are inspired and makes the costs of production reduced significantly. This is such a win-win solution for both the brewing industry and environment in general.
Saltwater Brewery has successfully tested a small-scale batch of these edible rings, they intend to increase the production of the ring to match the output of 400,000 cans per month. Even though these rings will make up a relatively minor changes to the plastic waste that we generate, what Saltwater Brewery has done sets an important precedent.
We hope that there are more companies like them who cares about marine life as much as we do. Make sure you go check our website for your next diving trips and try these tips with us.