Saltwater Brewery in Delray Beach, Fla., has come up with an idea that could save the lives of marine animals around the world: biodegradable and edible six-pack rings.

The public has gotten used to seeing tragic pictures of birds, otters, turtles, and fish stuck in plastic six-pack rings that slowly kill them after getting wrapped around their necks when humans chuck them in the ocean or lose them on the beach. Saltwater Brewery’s product makes it easy for animals to simply chew them off and even eat them. Even better, the rings are created from a by-product of the beer-making process (think: grains), meaning that they are not only completely safe for fish to eat, but they are completely sustainable and biodegradable, too. If nothing eats them, they simply dissolve.

As with many environmentally friendly products, the edible six-pack rings are more expensive to produce. Saltwater Brewery is working to add the rings to all of their canned products, and ideally they will share the technology with other breweries and drink makers, so the future will be littered with less plastic.

[H/T Huffington Post]

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