Six-Pack Ring Holders

Hello All,

We are all aware of how dangerous the plastic six-pack holders are to the marine environment/critters. I, as you can tell from my handle, work in the food business as a Registered Dietitian in as major medical center in NYC, and as you can guess, we have lots of 'em. I am collecting them to keep them out of the water, but now I have no room in my office. Hospital is getting mad. What should I do with them (keep it clean!)

I want to set up some kind of program to get us all to collect them and make the count go towards something useful. I thought that we can make arrangements with a group that if we collect "X" number of them, or "X" number of pounds we can save a certain amount of underwater reefs, etc.

Any and all input will be appreciated. Let's face it: we all do this for the love of it. If we don't start protecting what we use, we won't have it for much longer. I want my girls (ages 4 and 13 months) to one day enjoy this sport like I do, and look forward to the day when they become my dive buddies.

Thanks again,

FD

Wow, I did not even think they were making those things anymore. I don't buy anything in 6 packs anymore anyway. My best guess is to get started in cutting them up and then off to the recycling center.

I think the type of plastic used for those is highly recyclable. Rather than cutting each ring and adding it to the landfill, recycle them.

Any plastic rings should be cut before disposal. Stops them getting around the necks of wildlife.

Matt

Yeah, I was pretty surprised to find out that those still exist. I find them in the garbage at work after they refill the soda machine. I just grab the scissors and cut the loops. I guess that I should recycle them too....

well if they are filling up your office it might take a lot of cutting but needs to be done before recycling or you could make a nice black toxic bon-fire:)

Ahha, the fresh smell of burning plastic in the morning......

Last time I tried the bon fire thing the hospital administration got mad.

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I will cut them and recycle them. I was sort of going for a more global / eco-beneficial thing with making it count towards something good. Get credit as a group for saving the waters we use.

Still open for ideas. Can we recycle them into specifc items such as slates, clips, etc? for our use? Would be kind of ironic, huh?

They will probablly end up recycled into fishing nets...................


Just kidding (I HOPE!!!)

Let me clear up some misconceptions:

1. The carriers are 100% photodegradeable in sunlight and approved by the US EPA for packaging use. Yes, there are litter bugs who don't care about the environment and who do not properly dispose of said packaging. However, the carriers are designed to break down in sunlight and become brittle enough to snap the ring apart should an animal or marine creature come into contact with them.

2. You can recycle the carriers. Please visit www.ringleader.com.

3. There are a lot of people who think that the carriers have value because they do NOT use as much material as fiberboard or corrugated packaging to dispense cans to the public for consumption. ITW Hi-Cone is the manufacturer of these products and is an environmentally conscious company that works on sustainability of its products and processes to benefit the environment as well as the corporation.

4. If you have any questions about these products please visit www.hi-cone.com to get more information.

Thanks,
The Ring Master