Heineken Says Goodbye to Pesky Plastic Rings: Ocean Gives Thanks

Displayed green bottles of heineken and a black glove worn on a hand taking one of the bottles black text with white background white nup logo

Heineken, a 150-year old Dutch brewery has taken a bold step by completely ditching plastic shrink wraps and plastic rings for multi-packs. As the second-largest supplier of beer in the world, this will definitely have an impact on the reduction of plastic to ends up in landfills and oceans. Plastic rings have been the default packaging for multi-cans for more than 50 years. They continuously contribute to plastic pollution that ends up harming our land and marine life.

These cardboard toppers are strong enough to hold multiple cans and are the perfect alternative to plastic rings. This new technology was three years in the making and cost the company a whopping £22m in new technology and production facilities in the UK. By rolling out first in the UK alone, it will prevent 517 tonnes of plastic from becoming produced and then turned to waste by the end of 2021. That's roughly the weight of 517 healthy, happy baby humpback whales. Heineken says that by using eco-friendly materials, they will cut their carbon emissions by a third.

Other companies like Carlsberg also announced their plans to replace their plastic rings with recyclable glue. Diageo, the makers of Guinness has been replacing plastic rings with cardboard packs. Budweiser said they are removing their pack ricks by the end of 2020. Given the recent COVID-19 pandemic, it might delay the reaching of these targets but irregardless, it is a great step in the right direction.

What a great initiative from these beer companies. That's one good news of today!

Want to know more about other plastic alternatives that you can use directly at home? Check out our online shop.

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Nup is a brand of plastic-free alternatives and an advocate of positive minimal plastic living. In addition to our online shop, we spend our time scouting and featuring positive news to keep us inspired and motivated in our collective journey to reduce plastic in everyday living.

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