The maker of Guinness, Harp and Smithwick's plans to phase out its use of plastic packaging in an effort that would remove the equivalent of 40 million plastic bottles from the waste stream, company officials said.

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The company is investing $21 million to make the changes, officials said.

"For 260 years Guinness has played a vital role in the communities around us," Mark Sandys, global head of beer for Diageo, which owns the beer brands. "We already have one of the most sustainable breweries in the world at St. James' Gate and we are now leading the way in sustainable packaging."

The cardboard packaging will be on shelves in August in Ireland with an international rollout planned for 2020.

Individual cans, including the widget, are recyclable already.

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The renovation of Jekyll Island's Great Dunes golf course includes nine holes designed by Walter Travis in the 1920s for the members of the Jekyll Island Club. Several holes that were part of the original layout where located along the beach and were bulldozed in the 1950s.(Photo by Austin Kaseman)

Credit: Photo by Austin Kaseman