How to Recycle Wine Corks

When you finish a bottle of wine, what do you do with the cork? It doesn’t go into your paper, plastic, metal, or cardboard recycling bins, and throwing it away seems wasteful. Thankfully, some organizations have stepped up to meet this need for cork recycling. And you can recycle wine corks at home in creative ways. Here are some of the companies that recycle wine corks, and ideas for your own cork recycling.

ReCORK (recork.org)

Once known as ReCORK America, ReCORK by Amorim is a cork recycling program sponsored by Amorim of Portugal. Passionate about staving off climate change, ReCORK is motivated by the sustainable and eco-friendly nature of cork and cork products.

According to recork.org, used corks can be made into footwear, insulation for buildings, gaskets for automobiles, floor tiles, craft materials, and sports equipment. Corks can be chopped for mulch or soil conditioner as well. ReCORK is working to establish locations for cork collection at businesses across America.

Cork ReHarvest (corkreharvest.org)

This cork recycling company partnered with Whole Foods in the spring of 2010. Collection boxes for used, natural corks are being set up at Whole Foods stores in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada. These companies recognize the rising demand for cork and the possible damage to cork forests that could occur if harvest is done too quickly or carelessly.

Cork trees are not cut down to harvest cork. Instead, the bark is stripped from the tree every twelve years, preserving the tree’s life. But the timing is important and increased demand could mean careless harvest practices.

Yemm & Hart (yemmhart.com)

Yemm & Hart posts an address on their website where consumers can send their used corks. Located in Missouri, Yemm & Hart specializes in manufacturing wine cork floor tiles from recycled corks. The company considers this the most sustainable product that can be made from used corks. Their website includes a downloadable brochure for you to distribute.

What Else Can Be Made from Recycled Corks?

Industries and manufacturers can make flooring, shoe soles, insulation, gaskets, and even sports equipment from used corks. Being a sustainable, renewable resource, cork is popular for all kinds of items. There are things you can do with used wine corks at home, too. Here are some ideas:

Recycling Wine Corks at Home

* Use them as floats for a fishing line.

* Corks make good cat toys. Stick feathers into the corks or simply attach a cork to a string. Some cats will be happy just batting the cork around on the floor as-is.

* Put down used corks in your yard and garden as mulch. They do break down eventually, even if you put them in your garden whole.

* Crafts of all kinds can be made with corks. Children can glue them together to make cork people or animals. Adults can make wreaths, trivets, picture frames, and other items.

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