Corona could be on the verge of something huge!
With their new project, they hope to inspire other large beer and soft drink companies to replace the traditional single use plastic rings with biodegradable ones that actually feed the fish instead of killing them.
A few years back in Florida, a group of surfers and fishermen started a microbrewery called Saltwater Brewery. The brewery wanted to do something a little different after being concerned about the levels of plastic pollution in our oceans so they developed edible ring-holders for their beer cans made entirely from barley and wheat bi-products from the brewing process.
Little did they know that they would soon start a trend that has the potential to save millions of sea creatures if larger breweries and soda companies were to adopt their practices.
A few years later, brewers from all corners of the globe have joined the initiative. Brewers in Australia, Poland, Scotland, South Africa, Connecticut, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Washington State have all jumped on the bandwagon.
And now, Corona, in association with Parley for the Oceans (an organization that addresses major threats towards our oceans), could really get the ball rolling, as the first major beer company to test the product.
Corona and Parley share the same mission – helping to protect the world’s oceans and beaches from plastic pollution.
The partnership revolves around a joint commitment to protect 100 islands by 2020.
Given that around 8 MM metric tons of plastic gets dumped into the ocean each year, there is a growing need to tackle the issue in a number of ways. This is why Corona has adopted Parley’s A.I.R. strategy to “avoid” and “intercept” as much plastic as possible, and also to help “redesign” solutions that use the material.
The rings are 100% biodegradable and safe for fish, turtles, birds and other marine life to eat, unlike the plastic ring-holders that are now killing them by the millions.
Cyrill Gutsch, Founder and CEO, Parley for the Oceans states:
“Our oceans are under attack. We are taking their life in rapid speed, destroying the chemistry that allows us to be here. Therefore we are bidding on the few who take the lead in true change. The ones who are shaping the future with us.
Corona is such an Ocean Champion, a powerful ally in our war against marine plastic pollution — and in building the material revolution that will lead us beyond it. We share the goal of phasing plastic out for good, because we simply can’t afford its toxic impact anymore.”
Each and every year, “an estimated one million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals and sea turtles become entrapped in plastic or ingest it and die,” according to marine biologist Mark Tokulka in a promo video (below) by Saltwater Brewery.
The CFO of Eco Six Pack Rings told Forbes:
“If discarded properly it will make its way to a compost facility … if incorrectly thrown into the wilderness, it will biodegrade.”
The rings are currently being trialed where Corona in produced in Tulum, Mexico, and if all goes according to plan, the company will roll out the product everywhere Corona is sold.
