Guinness calls time on plastic can rings to help save sea life

GUINNESS has joined Carlsberg by getting rid of plastic rings around the necks of cans, amid claims that the packaging strangles birds and fish.

The brewer has promised that all multi-can packs will instead be sold in “sustainably sourced, recyclable and fully biodegradable cardboard”.

Carlsberg was the first brewery to stop using plastic last September.

Guinness said a phased introduction of its changes would begin in Ireland in August, followed by the UK and then the rest of the world next year. Ring carriers and shrink wrap will also be removed from multipacks of its Harp and Smithwicks brands.

It is estimated that around eight million tons of plastic is dumped in oceans every year. Although beer ring carriers only represent a small fraction of the waste, they are among the most dangerous to sea life. Images of ocean creatures ensnared in plastic have sparked outrage among campaigners.

Carlsberg has estimated its “snap packs” will reduce plastic waste by more than 1,200 tons a year, the equivalent of 60 million plastic bags.

Guinness is owned by Diageo, the world’s biggest spirits company. The British firm also counts Johnnie Walker whisky and Baileys among its huge portfolio of brands.

Diageo, which exports its drinks to more than 100 countries, said the waste plastic saved by the ban would be the equivalent of removing 40 million 500ml plastic bottles, which, if laid out end-to-end, would reach from London to Beijing.

Six-pack rings were invented in the Sixties by ITW Hi-cone, the packaging company. By the late-eighties it was reported that discarded rings were causing the deaths of one million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals every year. In 1994, US authorities stipulated that ring carriers must be degradable.

The first fully eco-friendly system was launched by E6PR (Eco Six Pack Ring) in 2016. It holds cans together using packaging made from by-product waste and other compostable materials. Left out in the open or in water, it degrades in a matter of weeks.

Diageo said its commitment would cost the company, one of the largest listed on the London Stock Exchange, about £16million. It aims to ensure that all plastics are widely recyclable or reusable/compostable by 2025.

Mark Sandys, the firm’s global head of beer, Baileys and Smirnoff, said: “For 260 years Guinness has played a vital role in the communities around us. We already have one of the most sustainable breweries in the world at St James’s Gate and we are now leading the way in sustainable packaging.”

David Cutter, Diageo’s chief sustainability officer added: “We have been working tirelessly to make our packaging more environmentally friendly.”