Oct 1st, 2018
Plastic packaging on beer cans
By Becca McCarthy
If you ever needed proof that we can make multi-billion pound companies listen to the public and tackle the plastic pollution currently engulfing our planet… this is it.
Earlier this month Walkers, the UK’s biggest crisp manufacturer, announced the world’s first national recycling scheme for plastic crisp packaging. [1] It’ll mean millions less crisp packets going to landfill or washing up on our beaches. And it only happened because hundreds of thousands of people piled on the pressure with a huge campaign to get Walkers to do their bit to combat plastic waste. [2]
But our plastic pollution crisis isn’t caused by crisp packets alone. [3] There is still a lot to do to force huge companies to change their ways. That’s why 38 Degrees member Imogen set up a petition urging the UK’s big beer manufacturers to ditch the plastic rings that hold cans together.
Will you take 30 seconds to join Imogen and sign the petition – it could be the next people-powered victory in the fight against plastic pollution:
Plastic rings from beer and cider cans are littered everywhere – from our parks to our rivers and beaches. They can harm or even kill birds and fish, and together add up to thousands of tonnes of plastic waste. [4]
The worst thing is – there’s a simple solution: get the biggest beer and cider companies to ditch the plastic rings. There are alternatives ready and waiting – Carlsberg just announced they’ll use recyclable glue instead and Thatchers Cider replaced rings with cardboard packaging. [5]
If thousands of people signed a petition we could pressure other beer giants to ditch plastic for good. It took 330,000 people campaigning together to force Walkers to act, it’ll take just as many to force the big beer companies to sit up and listen.
Notes:
[1] BBC News: Walkers crisp packets recycling scheme announced:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-45759712
[2] 38 Degrees: Walkers announce a new recycling scheme for crisp packets!:
https://home.38degrees.org.uk/2018/10/05/walkers-announce-a-new-recycling-scheme-for-crisp-packets/
The Guardian: Walkers answers critics with launch of UK crisp packet recycling plan:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/05/walkers-answers-critics-with-launch-of-uk-crisp-packet-recycling-plan
[3] Daily Mail: How the relentless plastic tide is taking its toll on wildlife of the Arctic: Shocking images show reindeer, polar bears and seals tangled in nets and ropes:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5369709/How-plastic-killing-Arctic-wildlife.html
[4] National Geographic: Are Plastic Six-Pack Rings Still Ensnaring Wildlife?:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2018/09/news-plastic-six-pack-rings-alternatives-history/
[5] Telegraph: Carlsberg glues beer cans together becoming one of the first breweries to abandon plastic rings:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/09/07/carlsberg-glues-beer-cans-together-becoming-first-brewery-abandon/
Thatchers Cider: Thatchers eliminates plastic ring carriers:
https://www.thatcherscider.co.uk/news/thatchers-eliminates-plastic-ring-carriers/
