Tethered bottle caps have been branded as 'the latest EU brain fart' to make life more irritating.
It's part of a European Union directive to harmonise single-use plastic drinks containers with a capacity of up to three litres.
Tethered caps and lids will be in place for all drinks containers and bottles from next month.
Several drinks companies here have already implemented the change.
Irish Independent columnist Ian Doherty told The Hard Shoulder he believes it is designed to irritate people.
"There are people working in the EU who are paid to come up with these ideas," he said.
"There are people working in the EU who are paid just to make life that little bit more irritating.
"Where I've come across it most is on milk cartons - if I'm making a cup of coffee... half the time the caps gets in the way of the milk so I end up spilling the milk."
Small bottles of Coca Cola and Coke Zero stand on a table, 5-11-22. Image: Soeren Stache/dpa/AlamyMr Doherty said he originally thought it was a manufacturing error.
"I genuinely thought there was a flaw in the manufacturing," he said.
"I just rip it off so basically it has made no more difference to me.
"Most people won't know that this is the latest EU brain fart to make our days a bit more irritating".
Mr Doherty said it is another small change that people didn't ask for.
"These are things that are not the biggest issues in the world... but it's the small issues that drive people mad," he said.
"These are small issues that just seem almost factory-designed to annoy people".
Tethered bottle caps 'keep them out of waste'
Voice Ireland Coordinator Colin O'Brien explained why it is in place.
"The plastic caps on top of our bottles account for a huge amount of litter," he said.
"A lot of the time people take the caps off and put into the recycling bin, as we should be doing.
"The thing is when the bottle caps get to the facility that sorts out all the recycling, they're very small and can often times pass through the machines and don't actually end up getting recycled."
Mr O'Brien said it is also hoped the initiative will cut down on plastic pollution.
"Another part is just trying to cut down on the amount of plastic pollution that we have generally," he said.
"By keeping the caps on the bottles we'll at least keep them in the recycling stream and keep them out of waste.
"For the annoyance it causes us it is a way of just trying to cut down on plastic pollution which is a huge issue domestically and internationally".
Mr Doherty suggested if lose caps can slip through the recycling process "then improve the recycling process".
The EU's Single-Use Plastics (SUP) Directive is looking to reduce environmental plastic waste and has already seen the implementation of measures to eliminate single-use plastic items such as takeaway containers, plastic drink stirrers and cotton bud sticks.
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