Carlton and United Breweries is to stop using plastic six-pack rings on beer cans. Credit: FoodBev Media.

Australian company Carlton and United Breweries (CUB) is set to discontinue the use of plastic six-pack rings on its beer cans in a bid to bolster sustainable packaging efforts.

The company will replace the plastic rings with cardboard packaging.

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The initiative will be carried out by its Abbotsford brewery and will include its popular beer brands VB and Carlton Draught.

CUB CEO Peter Filipovic said: “Beer lovers can now enjoy their favourite beers from the can without worrying about their damaging effect on the environment.

“We’ve been around for 180-odd years. We’re determined to be around for another 180 and more, and our sustainability programme is critical to that.

“We’ve sourced and tested the new packaging, installed the new equipment, and now the new packaging is running off the canning line at Abbotsford.”

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“We’ve sourced and tested the new packaging, installed the new equipment, and now the new packaging is running off the canning line at Abbotsford.”

The decision is expected to prevent 25 million six-pack rings from entering the environment annually.

New packaging is scheduled to reach the commercial stores in the following weeks.

CUB has recently taken a series of steps as part of its sustainable packaging initiative. Last year, the company stopped the use of plastic six-pack rings at its Cascade Brewery in Tasmania.

It has committed to annually replacing the use of 137t of plain shrink wrap on slabs of cans with new cardboard packaging.

Filipovic added: “Last year, we made a commitment that 100% of our products will be in packaging that is returnable or made from majority-recycled content by 2025. The decision to stop using plastic six-pack rings is a major step towards achieving that.”