Another great resource is available for those looking to recycle those trickier items. A group called ReCORK promotes the recycling of wine corks, and uses them to create trees and forests in efforts to limit climate change.
Their website explains:
“Natural cork, the kind used in wine closures, is a perfect choice
for recycling. It’s 100% natural, biodegradable and renewable. There is
no reason natural wine corks should end up as garbage when recycled
cork can become flooring tiles, building insulation, automotive
gaskets, craft materials, soil conditioner and sports equipment.
Because of a worldwide interest in sustainable agriculture and natural
products like cork, an alliance of concerned businesses, individuals,
and ecological organizations has been formed to address the
opportunities to recycle natural cork closures.”
ReCORK is sponsored by a producer of all natural win cork closures out of Portugal, Amorim, as well as SOLE, a manufacturer of footwear products. This coming spring, SOLE will be releasing their line of products that use recycled cork. Their unique blend is sustainable, and replaces some of the petroleum-based materials.
ReCORK and SOLE also take efforts to plant cork oaks. Cork forests are large in Portugal, supplying more than half of the
world’s corks. Corks are biodegradable, recyclable, and renewable.
Moreover, the cork forests are habitats for many animals. Cork forests
are better suited to hot and arid conditions, and help protect the soil
from desertification.
Their website continues:
“ReCORK has
already collected millions of used corks. Check out the ticker at the
top of this window to see a running tally of how many have been
collected so far. The program is focused on obtaining used and surplus
corks from individual consumers, retail and hospitality organizations,
winery tasting rooms, bottling lines and quality assurance
laboratories. Collection locations are being established with key
retailers and restaurants all over North America. A list of current
collection locations can be found here. Please note: only natural cork is being accepted. No plastic or metal closures will be accepted.”
Don’t throw away your corks, but instead send them to ReCORK or drop it off at one of their locations.
Check out their website at ReCORK.
For more infomation on Amorim, check out amorim.com and corkfacts.com. Also, check out SOLE online.
Hi, Matt from ReCORK here, thanks for posting this story!