Budweiser is to phase out single-use plastic pack rings from its entire range of UK-produced beer – which includes Stella Artois, Budweiser and Bud Light – by the end of 2020.

The group is investing £6.3m on upgrading production at its two Welsh UK factories to produce alternatives to single-use plastic, which include recyclable paperboard as well as wraps and boxes.

It said the switch would help it eliminate 850 tonnes of plastic each year. This includes removing 250 tonnes of plastic rings previously used to hold packs of beer cans together (117m plastic rings in total) and 600 tonnes of shrink film, mostly used as extra packaging around trays when shipping.

Paula Lindenberg, the president of Budweiser Brewing Group UK & Ireland, said: “This announcement ensures that the UK’s favourite beers will soon come in recyclable paperboard packaging, so consumers can make better choices. We’re proud of the work we’ve already done but we realised more needed to be done to address the issue of single-use plastics.”