Beer is good. Beer is very good in fact. The problem for humans is that when you drink too many of them you can cause problems for yourself. However, even before the first can hits your lips you’ve caused a potentially huge problem for a lot of innocent creatures out there, because the plastic holders that keep your six pack together can cause often fatal issues for the denizens of the world’s oceans.

Fortunately Saltwater Brewery, who we first learned about at Discover Magazine, has created an edible, compostable, biodegradable six-pack holder, just as strong and resilient as the plastic ones they’re replacing, and are meals instead of a hazard.

The small craft beer brewery out of Florida primarily says it targets surfers, fisherman, and people that love the sea, so it was fitting that they’d want to find a way to make sure they weren’t contributing to the problem of plastic holders finding their way to the ocean. According to Discover, “an estimated one million sea birds and 100,000 thousand marine mammals and sea turtles become entrapped in plastic or ingest it and die.” Saltwater Brewery’s edible six-pack holder is made up of barley and wheat remnants leftover from the brewing process, so even if it doesn’t become a snack, it safely disintegrates.

I’ve always cut up my plastic ring holders thinking I was doing my part, but I didn’t realize they were still being eaten, and that almost all of them end up in the ocean anyway. Hopefully if a small brewery can manage to do something good for the environment, bigger breweries, ones that are contributing much more to the problem, can step up their game too.

What are some of your favorite, innovative creations people have come up with to help out the environment? Tell us in the comments below.

Images: We Believers/Saltwater Brewery