Carlsberg has announced it will replace the plastic ring holders that have bundled beer cans together for more than half a century with a strong recyclable glue — a change the Danish brewer says will cut plastic use in its multipacks by up to 76%.
At a glance
- Snap pack: Cans in four-, six-, or eight-packs are held together by small blobs of strong adhesive designed to survive storage, transport, and home refrigeration — then snap apart audibly when separated.
- Plastic reduction: Carlsberg says the switch will eliminate more than 1,200 tonnes of plastic waste globally each year, the equivalent of around 60 million plastic bags.
- Recyclable glue: The adhesive is designed to be recycled alongside the aluminium can, meaning consumers don’t need to separate or dispose of it differently.
Why plastic can rings matter
Plastic ring holders — known in the industry as hi-cones or yokes — have been standard packaging for canned drinks for more than 50 years. They are also among the more visible symbols of single-use plastic pollution. Marine conservation workers find them regularly during beach clean-ups, and they pose an entanglement risk to seabirds, fish, and marine mammals.
Dr. Sue Kinsey, senior pollution policy officer with the Marine Conservation Society, welcomed the announcement. “This is an interesting development and will help cut down the amount of plastic on our beaches and in our seas,” she said. “These kinds of can yokes are regularly found in small numbers on our beach cleans. They are a hazard to wildlife which can get entangled in them. Any steps taken to stop the flow of plastics to our oceans are to be welcomed.”
During the 2017 C.E. Great British Beach Clean alone, volunteers found around 100 yokes over a single weekend.
How the snap pack works
Carlsberg’s new “snap pack” uses tiny blobs of adhesive to hold cans together in a formation. The glue is engineered to stay firm through the full journey from factory to fridge — surviving temperature swings during shipping and storage — yet releases cleanly when a consumer pulls cans apart. The audible snap is a deliberate design feature, giving users a clear signal the bond has broken cleanly.
Because the adhesive bonds directly to the aluminium, it can be processed in standard aluminium recycling streams. There is no separate plastic component to peel off or throw away.
The new packs were set to appear first in selected Tesco branches in the U.K. starting September 10, 2018 C.E., followed by a rollout in Norway. The initial U.K. launch covered Carlsberg Export, with the company stating it would extend the format across its full portfolio — including Tuborg and San Miguel — over time.
Part of a broader shift
Carlsberg’s move fits into a broader wave of packaging reform across the food and drinks industry, as companies respond to growing public and regulatory pressure on single-use plastics. Television coverage — including the BBC’s Blue Planet II — brought the scale of ocean plastic pollution into living rooms worldwide and accelerated corporate action.
This story is one example of the kind of practical innovation tracked in the climate progress archive — where incremental material changes in everyday products add up to measurable environmental gains.
Still, context matters. Eliminating plastic ring holders addresses one specific packaging stream, and aluminium production itself carries a significant carbon footprint. The 76% plastic reduction figure applies to the packaging component, not to the full environmental profile of canned beverages. Wider systemic change — including reduced overall consumption and better municipal recycling infrastructure — remains necessary alongside innovations like this one.
That said, the scale of the commitment is meaningful. Cutting more than 1,200 tonnes of plastic annually from a single company’s global packaging chain is a concrete, verifiable step — and if the format is adopted more broadly across the beer industry, the total impact could multiply significantly. Groups like the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, which tracks plastics in the circular economy, have long argued that packaging redesign at the manufacturing stage is among the most effective levers available.
Whether competitors follow Carlsberg’s lead — or whether regulators move to mandate similar changes — will determine how far this particular innovation travels. For now, it represents a measurable, industry-first reduction in one of the most recognizable forms of plastic waste in the marine environment.
Read more
For more on this story, see: The Guardian
For more from Good News for Humankind, see:
- Swedish researchers store solar energy as liquid fuel for 18 years
- Global EV sales top 20 million
- The Good News for Humankind archive on climate progress
About this article
- 🤖 This article is AI-generated, based on a framework created by Peter Schulte.
- 🌍 It aims to be inspirational but clear-eyed, accurate, and evidence-based, and grounded in care for the Earth, peace and belonging for all, and human evolution.
- 💬 Leave your notes and suggestions in the comments below — I will do my best to review and implement where appropriate.
- ✉️ One verified piece of good news, one insight from Antihero Project, every weekday morning. Subscribe free.
