Book 6, Question 131
Why Do Helpers Cut Six-Pack Rings?
Plastic six-pack rings are loops that can trap animals. A loop can slip over a bird's neck or a turtle's flipper, and it can tighten as the animal grows. Cutting every loop removes the trap!
From the book
Page from A Million Whys Book 6
More fun facts
- Plastic six-pack rings were first made in the 1960s.
- People have worried about six-pack rings since the late 1970s, when they became a symbol of trashed beaches.
- In 1987, a news report said up to a million seabirds and 100,000 sea mammals were killed each year by six-pack rings.
- Some experts now think the danger of the rings may have been exaggerated, but plastic in the ocean is still a real problem.
- In one 1988 beach clean-up in Oregon, volunteers picked up 1,500 six-pack rings in just a few hours.
- One brewery made six-pack rings that animals can eat and that break down naturally.
Sources: National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine
Questions kids ask
Are six-pack rings the biggest ocean plastic problem?
Some experts think their danger was overstated, but plastic in the ocean is still a serious problem.