This equates to reducing plastic waste globally by more than 1,200 tonnes a year: the equivalent of 60 million plastic bags.

The Snap Pack is one of the sustainable packaging innovations announced by Carlsberg this morning. Other projects include:

A switch to 'Cradle-to-Cradle Certified' silver inks on its bottle labels to improve recyclability

A new coating on refillable glass bottles to extend lifespan and therefore their environmental footprint

Caps which remove oxygen to make the beer taste fresher for longer

The new innovations will be first applied on the flagship Carlsberg brand. They are part of consumer-facing innovations in Carlsberg’s sustainability programme, Together Towards Zero.

Cees ’t Hart, CEO, Carlsberg Group, said: "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.”​

Danone bottled water brand evian has also been ditching shrink wrap with a special adhesive to bond its PET bottles together;​​ while Carlton & United Breweries brand Cascade recently announced it would swap plastic six-pack rings​​ for cardboard secondary packaging.