Edible Six-Pack Rings For Beer Can Save and Even Feed Marine Life

A Florida brewery just came up with an idea that could save marine life. Saltwater Brewery, a craft beer company in Delray Beach, created edible six-pack rings that can feed ocean animals if ever these wastes find themselves in the ocean.

Huffington Post reported that the six-pack rings are created from by-products of beer during the brewing process, such as barley and wheat. Compared to plastic packaging, these rings are completely biodegradable and compostable, so they won't be adding to mountains of landfills and garbage patches in our oceans.

This innovation can really change the game in the packaging industry. However, a major drawback is that these environment-friendly rings are more costly to produce. But the brewery hopes that people will be willing to pay a little more for the environment.

With a partnership with advertising agency We Believers, Saltwater Brewery launched the product with a video to boot.

The clip said Americans consumed 6.3 billion gallons of beer last year, half of which in cans. The plastic rings used for the cans usually end up in the oceans, polluting the bodies of water and endangering the lives of marine life which usually get caught in the rings or accidentally ingest the plastic, mistaking it to be food.

These edible rings could definitely make a world of difference. Aside from being edible and compostable, the rings are also strong enough to support the weight of the cans, so there should be no fears of the beers spilling out during handling.

"It's a big investment for a small brewery created by fishermen, surfers and people who love the sea," said Peter Agardy, head of the brand of the Saltwater Brewery.

Company president Chris Gove said they want to serve as an inspiration to big corporations to also have the similar technology. If more companies would get on the competition, the cost of production can be lowered too.

The 2015 Ocean Trash Index of The Ocean Conservancy said plastic is the most common item ingested by sea turtles last year. The volunteers who picked up more than 16 pounds of garbage discovered 57 marine mammals, 440 fish and 22 sharks, sting rays and skates trapped and entangled in plastic.