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5 Reasons the Beverage Industry Should Switch to E6PR Eco Rings
People have known about the dangers of plastic six-pack rings since the 1970s, remarkable considering the rings were only invented in the 1960s. Nevertheless, despite the dangers of the rings being known for decades, they continue to be used. Until recently, there was no real alternative. However, now eco-friendly six-pack rings are available.
Unfortunately, because they are a new technological innovation, few beverage companies have adopted them, which means higher prices for the consumer when purchasing the product. However, if more beverage companies were to adopt E6PR rings, the extra cost would no longer be an issue. Here are some reasons to adopt E6PR rings.
1. Wildlife Get Entangled in Plastic Rings
Plastic can be an unyielding material. When it floats around in the water, there is a chance that marine animals can become tangled up in it, unable to extricate themselves. Sometimes the animals die as a result of the entanglement.
Some animals that get entangled in plastic rings survive, but that doesn’t mean that the entanglement has no ill effects. Take the case of Peanut, a freshwater turtle who got stuck inside a plastic six-pack ring as a baby. The plastic ring didn’t break even as the turtle grew, so her shell grew around it instead. This caused disfigurement of her shell and dysfunction of some of her internal organs because the compression caused them to be underdeveloped. Peanut was rescued but has to spend the rest of her life in captivity because her deformities would prevent her from surviving in the wild.
2. Wildlife Ingests Plastic
As a compromise to the problems posed by plastic six-pack rings, a law was passed in 1989 requiring them to be photodegradable. With exposure to sunlight, the plastic rings break down in a process lasting up to four months. While this sounds good in theory, there are a couple of problems.
First, when the plastic rings make their way into the water, they no longer receive direct sunlight, meaning that the process of breaking down can take a lot longer. Second, while the plastic rings break down, they do not biodegrade. They just break down into smaller and smaller plastic shards. These microplastics have been found in the bodies of marine creatures, and the long-term effects are not yet known. Swallowing a larger piece of plastic could cause serious veterinary problems, such as intestinal blockages.
3. Eco-Friendly Six-Pack Rings Are Made Out of Biodegradable Materials
E6PR rings are actually made of byproducts of the process used to brew beer, residues left behind from processing barley and wheat. This makes them biodegradable. In other words, if they make their way into the environment, they will not remain indefinitely, as plastic rings would. Eventually, they break down completely to their component elements, returning to the earth from which they came.
4. Eco-Friendly Six-Pack Rings Are Edible
Because E6PR rings are made of byproducts of brewing, they are edible. They don’t have a taste and offer no nutritional value, but if a wild animal accidentally swallows one, it won’t do any harm. The rings will pass naturally through the animal’s digestive system to be harmlessly excreted.
5. Eco-Friendly Six-Pack Rings Benefit the Environment in Other Ways
Unlike plastic six-pack rings, E6PR rings do not use any petroleum-based products. By switching to E6PR rings, you could reduce your company’s carbon footprint and avoid the harmful effects on the environment that can result from petroleum drilling.
By switching to eco-friendly six-pack rings for your beverage packaging, you help to set a new standard for the industry. Kinsbrae Packaging is your source for E6PR rings, custom packaging sleeves, and much more.