Probably the greenest way to keep beer cans together
CARLSBERG beer cans are to be stuck together with glue as it becomes the first brewer to abandon plastic rings.
The Danish firm said the move, which has been heralded as a world first, to attach its multi-packs with adhesive will reduce the use of plastic to package products by 75 per cent.
After a three-year development process, Carlsberg insists the dots of glue bonding its new “Snap Packs” are strong enough to withstand journeys from shelves to homes, yet sufficiently brittle to break when twisted.
At an official launch event in Copenhagen, Christopher Stuhlmann, the inventor, revealed how a trip to his local DIY store helped convince him that his brainwave could become a reality.
“I bought all the adhesive I could get, all the glue that was there,” said Mr Stuhlmann, who works for one of Carlsberg’s design partners.
“Over the weekend I just glued things together and made a short video for my CEO and so the idea was born.”
The technology has the support of the World Wildlife Fund, which has hailed it as a “big step” in efforts to tackle the worsening global scourge of plastic pollution.
Simon Boas Hoffmeyer, head of sustainability at Carlsberg, said once the Snap Packs are rolled out worldwide the company will reduce its plastic use by 1,200 tonnes a year – the equivalent of 60million plastic bags.