# Plastic can holders **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 7, 2003, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-can-holders/159703 "2003-03-07T13:56:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Meatros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Meatros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatros)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2003, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-can-holders/159703/1 "2003-03-07T13:56:09Z")
Two questions that have troubled me and my fiance of late: First, what is the plastic six pack holder thing called? Second: I’ve heard that in order to protect the environment you are supposed to cut each of the plastic rings, in order for them not to cause any marine life undue problems. I can understand this. What I can’t understand is how does my plastic six pack holder thing-a-ma-bob get from out of my trashbag, out of the dump, and into the ocean? Anyone have any ideas? ---
**Author:** ![NoGoodNamesLeft](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8797f3/32.png) [@NoGoodNamesLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoGoodNamesLeft)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2003, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-can-holders/159703/2 "2003-03-07T14:13:57Z")
I think you’re supposed to cut them to keep birds from getting caught up in them when they try to use them as nesting material. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2003, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-can-holders/159703/3 "2003-03-07T14:31:24Z")
Cutting them up: more feel good action than practical action. Somewhere someone found a plastic ring wrapped around some wildlife somewhere, but is it most likely because of a direct litterer. I’ll try to show that the ‘wildlife gets caught in the plastic six pack holder’ claim is mostly unsubstantiated. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2003, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-can-holders/159703/4 "2003-03-07T14:34:57Z")
IF the rings get in the ocean, they could be a hazard to wildlife. But it seems unlikely to me that much of your household garbage is routed directly to the ocean. So my advice is: if you throw a ring overboard from a boat, be sure to cut it up first. (Be a _responsible_ polluter.) Otherwise, never mind. Have a beer. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2003, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-can-holders/159703/5 "2003-03-07T14:39:56Z")
They can (according to a conservationist friend of mine) get stuck on the beaks of gulls (not the large holes that hold the cans, the smaller square ones between them. Gulls are a common sight at landfills, I suppose in the general melee to consume food scraps, it’s not impossible that the occasional gull would find itself so entangled, but I can’t imagine that six-pack holders are the only culprit and anyway, the gull population in such cases is often abnormally high due to the abundant food resources. ---
**Author:** ![Meatros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Meatros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatros)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2003, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-can-holders/159703/6 "2003-03-07T14:41:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Musicat \* > \*\*So my advice is: if you throw a ring overboard from a boat, be sure to cut it up first. (Be a _responsible_ polluter.) Otherwise, never mind. Have a beer. \*\* 😃 The whole “responsible polluter” thing had me rolling!