More than a million marine creaturesand other birds and animals die from plastic trash each year. Many get caught up and strangled by the plastic 6-pack rings, or die from trying to consume/digest the material. Landfills are filled with non-degradable plastic.
Now one of Ireland’s most loved beer/breweries is joining several other beer companies by trading out plastic packaging for 100% biodegradable materials. Good News Network reports the parent company of Guinness beer, Diageo, will be investing $21 million to bring its goal of eliminating shrink-wrapped and six-pack plastic products into fruition.
Presently, less than 5% of Diageo products are plastic. In efforts to go further, the Diageo’ brewery will reduce plastic in landfills and by 529 tons by using 100% bio-degradable cardboard. The new packaging will appear on shelves in Ireland in August and by the summer of 2020, Diego will introduce its newly packaged product packing to Britain and markets around the world.
In the past several years, Corona, Carlsberg andSaltwater breweries have announced and/or implemented their eco-friendly decision to switch from plastic packaging. Diageo will be the fourth.
“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,” said Global Head of Beer Mark Sandy’s in a statement. “This is good news for the brand, for our wider beer portfolio and for the environment.”
So it’s a win-win-win. If all beer breweries and all soda companies would see it that way, and follow the lead of these four breweries using biodegradable wrapping products, it would not only save the lives of millions of sea animals—it would also help save the earth. Every single effort helps. Here’s to the companies and corporations that care.