Marine creatures can feed on brewery’s edible six-pack rings instead of choking on them

A Florida brewery has done something bold to try to help the environment: replacing the plastic six-pack rings that can harm sea life with edible ones.

Plastic rings - untold numbers of which end up in rivers and oceans - can be fatal to animals like fish, turtles and birds, and Saltwater Brewery thought there had to be a better way.

The Delray Beach craft brewery thinks it’s found it: turning wheat and barley left over from the brewing process into rings that are functional for thirsty people but also biodegradable and edible for animals.

This is “a six-pack packaging design that instead of killing animals, feeds them,” said Chris Gove, president and co-founder of Saltwater Brewery.

“By using by-products of the beer brewing process such as barley and wheat, this packaging goes beyond recycling and strives to achieve zero waste.”

Nicholas Mallos of the Washington-based Ocean Conservancy praised the idea as a “great example of innovating” but said it’s just one small step toward tackling a large problem.