Carlsberg to scrap plastic rings on beer cans in favour of glue

Carlsberg will ditch plastic rings which connect multi-packs of its beer and replace them with glue, in a move which is set to “reduce plastic waste globally by more than 1,200 tonnes a year”.

Following three years of testing, the company has released the Snap Pack, a technology which glues cans together and reduces the amount of plastic used in traditional multi-packs by up to 76%.

The “world-first” move in the beer industry comes as Carlsberg also switches to Cradle to Cradle Silver-level certified inks on its bottle labels to improve recyclability, and adds a new coating on refillable glass bottles to extend their lifespan.

The Danish brewer has also developed new caps which remove oxygen “to make the beer taste fresher for longer”.

Carlsberg CEO Cees ’t Hart said: “It’s an important day for Carlsberg. We are working hard to deliver on our ambitious sustainability agenda and to help tackle climate change.

“We always strive to improve and today’s launch clearly shows our ambition to follow in our founder’s footsteps towards a better tomorrow. Carlsberg’s Snap Pack will significantly reduce the amount of plastic waste, and we look forward to giving our consumers better beer experiences with less environmental impact.”

The glue reduces the amount of plastic used in traditional multi-packs by up to 76%.

To accelerate the implementation of its sustainability ambitions, Carlsberg also announced a strategic partnership with Plastic Change, a Danish environmental organisation, in addition to its dialogue with the WWF on sustainable issues.

WWF Denmark secretary general Bo Øksnebjerg said: “Our wildlife is drowning in plastic – and the problem is unfortunately growing considerably. We therefore need to act now. We need less plastic to end up in nature.

“That is why we consider it huge progress that Carlsberg is now launching solutions that significantly reduce the amount of plastic in its packaging. With these new solutions, Carlsberg has taken the first big steps on the journey towards a more clean and green future.”

As part of its Together Towards Zero sustainability initiative, Carlsberg aims to use 100% renewable electricity as a source of energy by 2022.

Earlier this year the brewer revealed it had reduced carbon emissions at its plants by 16% since 2015 and has stopped using coal to power nine of its breweries in China.