Reading how people lived hundreds of years ago is fun. It reminds you that being able to drink a cold beer created in another country is a miracle.

When you think about how much effort it took to get that beer into your hands, it's funny which component draws the most scrutiny. It's not the farmland required to grow the barley, the diesel machines required to harvest it; not the aluminum mining required to create the cans; not the fume-belching ships or delivery trucks that get it to you, or the freon required to keep it frosty on the way; instead it's the little plastic thing that holds six cans together. That's the only thing where we can draw a straight line between the item and dead wildlife.

Image: Staecker - Own work, Public Domain

In any case, people are working on that aspect of the problem. Previously we looked at the KeelClip , a paperboard-based can carrier, and Carlsberg's tried an interesting system where they glue the cans together. Another design is the Eco Six Pack Ring, by packaging company E6PR. It's made of "fiber by-product and other compostable materials," and the company says it will biodegrade "under natural conditions."

The company says they distribute in 24 countries to date, though thus far their target market appears to be craft brewers. If that's you, you can learn more here.

h/t colin warnes