Surf City brewery first in North Carolina to use can holders edible by marine wildlife
Surf City brewery first in North Carolina to use can holders edible by marine wildlife
SURF CITY — Nearly two years after becoming Pender County’s original brewery, Salty Turtle Beer Company is now tackling another first — as the first brewery in North Carolina to use biodegradable, compostable can ring holders.
The product was launched in 2018 by a Florida brewery as a way to protect marine wildlife from plastic pollution, including several species of sea turtles native to the Florida coast.
After working the end of the line during the brewery’s initial canning run on Tuesday, co-owner Dan Callendar said the can holder, made by a company called E6PR in Mexico, was a pioneering product in the world of beer distribution. Made of wheat and barley from brewers’ waste, it was designed to replace its traditional plastic counterpart.
In a time when an increasing amount of plastic clogs the world’s waterways and oceans, ensnaring wildlife and harming animals when swallowed, Callendar was excited to use a product that so fluidly aligns with the brewery’s goal of helping protect the coastal environment.
After working the end of the line during the brewery’s initial canning run on Tuesday, co-owner Dan Callendar said the can holder, made by a company called E6PR in Mexico, was a pioneering product in the world of beer distribution. Made of wheat and barley from brewers’ waste, it was designed to replace its traditional plastic counterpart.
In a time when an increasing amount of plastic clogs the world’s waterways and oceans, ensnaring wildlife and harming animals when swallowed, Callendar was excited to use a product that so fluidly aligns with the brewery’s goal of helping protect the coastal environment.
True to its namesake, he said Salty Turtle already makes quarterly donations to Surf City’s famous Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Hospital. They have so far raised $5,000 for the hospital, he said.
The product was first distributed by Saltwater Brewery in southern Florida, 130 miles up the coast from the world’s first state-licensed veterinary sea turtle hospital in the Florida Keys.
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