MillerCoors Looks To Biodegradable Solutions To Plastic Six-Pack Rings

Plastic six-pack rings are a nightmare. They trash oceans, ensnare sea life and will outlast all of us…

And in effort to counter the ecological waste associated with this troublesome kind of packaging MillerCoors is teaming up with Footprint, an environmentally-friendly manufacture of recyclable material, to come up with a smarter alternative.

“What we are trying to do is get away from the plastic and get more into the biodegradable, recyclable and bio-friendly solution,” MillerCoors brew master Jeff Nickel explained to the ABC Denver 7. And Footprint shares MillerCoors vision” Nickel added. “Their goal is to remove most plastics from the environment”

Together, the companies are creating new rings, made out of compostable material. And although the biodegradable rings “aren’t cheap” And Nickel stressed that they’re “much sturdier and better for the environment.”

According Denver Channel “MillerCoors is still in testing mode with the new design, but they hope to roll out the new six-pack of recyclable rings in the near future.”

MillerCoors actions but the latest step in a growing movement of beer companies attempting to eliminate plastic six-pack rings.

Carlsberg has announced that it would be replacing traditional plastic 6-pack rings, with tiny dots of glue binding the cans together that won’t trash the world’s oceans or entangle its sea life.

Already on retail shelves in the UK, Carlsberg’s “Snap Pack” hopes to reduce the amount of plastic used in traditional multi-packs by up to 76%, and the company’s overall global plastic usage by more than 1,200 tons. Guinness, which is owned by Diageo, has announced that it will be replacing the plastic rings with cardboard packs, which are sustainably sourced, recyclable and fully biodegradable.

And this month Corona introduced “Fit Packs,” an interlocking beer can design that recently won an award at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in France.