Guinness to remove plastic packaging from beer packs

Guinness owner Diageo announced on Monday it would remove plastic packaging such as ring carriers and shrink wrap from their beer multipacks in the Guinness, Harp and Smithwick’s brands.

Diageo is investing £16m to reduce plastic packaging and introduce 100% recyclable and biodegradable cardboard to replace plastic.

Multi-can packs will be replaced by cardboard packs, which are sustainably sourced, recyclable and fully biodegradable.

These new packs will be in stores from August 2019 in Ireland and Summer 2020 in Great Britain and other international markets.

The company said the reduction of waste would be equivalent to removing 40 million 50cl plastic bottles from the world.

“For 260 years Guinness has played a vital role in the communities around us. We already have one of the most sustainable breweries in the world at St. James’s Gate and we are now leading the way in sustainable packaging. This is good news for the brand, for our wider beer portfolio and for the environment.” said Mark Sandys, global head of beer at the FTSE 100 group.