Carbon Filter Plastic?

I bought a carbon filter, and it came with a layer of thin plastic wrapped around the metal part, under the foam sheet. Do I have to remove this plastic before using it, or do I need to keep it there for some purpose?

To try to explain better, the carbon filter is a metal cylinder with a bunch of holes all around the sides, on top of that there is a very thin layer of plastic, that looks a lot like packaging plastic, and over that, there is a white foam wrapped around the cylinder. Do I remove the plastic, or keep it?

 

Thanks for the quick reply, here is a picture if it helps.

 

Also, it seems to go all the way under the foam, the entire length of the filter.