Death by Six-Pack Plastic Rings

Six-pack plastic rings have been a problem in the oceans for years- getting caught and tangled around sea creature’s necks/bodies, cutting off their circulation. Even though six-pack plastic rings are only one of the several water pollution issues in today’s world, the cut down in production of these rings would make a huge impact on sea life.

These six-pack plastic rings find various ways to make it to the ocean. 80% of the ocean’s trash comes from land-based activities. The most common include falling off cargo ships, litters from beaches, trash being blown from the streets, and irresponsible factories and waste-management companies.

Regardless whose fault it is, six-pack plastic rings in the oceans is a significant topic that needs to be addressed to help preserve aquatic life. One common solution that has been passed through many organizations and eco-friendly blogs is to snip the plastic rings with scissors before disposing them. This way you know that even if they do end up in the ocean, chances of getting entangled around animal’s bodies are less.

A brewery company, Saltwater Brewery, from Florida has even gone to the length of creating edible six-pack rings to address this issue. They use beer-by products such as barley and wheat to create these cardboard-like plastic rings that are safe for animals, even humans, to consume. This way if a sea creature ends up facing these rings, they are treated with a snack rather than the risk of choking and suffocating to death. This is one step in the right direction to reduce the harms plastic causes in our aquatic life.

Resources:
https://dose.com/articles/how-do-those-plastic-rings-get-into-the-ocean/
http://www.iflscience.com/environment/ocean-animals-%E2%80%98death-plastic%E2%80%99-could-be-occurring-more-frequently/
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/saltwater-brewery-edible-six-pack-rings-beer-plastic-marine-life_us_573b796ce4b0ef86171c5fe4