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Why and how to recycle wine bottle corks
Tue, Nov 25 2008 at 11:02 AM
Some things are so small that recycling them doesn't seem like a big deal. Take wine bottle corks. They are very small and biodegradable. Why not just throw them in the trash?
It takes the Cork Oak Tree about 25 years before the cork can be harvested from it. After that cork can be harvested from the tree every 9 years, but only cork from the very first harvest of a tree is suitable for wine corks.
Wine corks cannot be reused as wine corks because of bacterial concerns, but they can be recycled into many other useful objects such as pushpin corkboards, coasters and flooring. If the home improvement shows are any indication, cork flooring is becoming a popular option. In one weekend, I saw three home shows on HGTV that used cork flooring in their designs. Each show mentioned how environmentally friendly cork is.
While cork is environmentally friendly and renewable, it takes a long time to renew. It makes sense to recycle what cork products there already are.
So where can you recycle your wine corks? The US is a behind other countries and there aren't many programs, yet, but there are a few options.
You can send them (at your own cost) to a program called Korks 4 Kids, a not-for-profit program, organized through Recycle Cork USA, LLC. to raise funds from the recycling of cork for Children's Charities.
They can also be sent (again, at your own cost) to Yemm & Hart, a green materials company that will recycle them into products.
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AntonThat's a nice story that (in part) left me wondering where the coborkard is hanging. Lots of people have suggested I use the corks to make a board, but I really don't have any use for such a thing. Besides, I have my heart set on making them into a floor. Trouble is, I don't have enough corks to make a floor larger than circa 20 sq. ft. So it's either drink a lot more wine, or settle for a doormat.
I am from South Africa. Are there anyone in SA that recyle cork?
"After that cork can be harvested from the tree every 9 years, but only cork from the very first harvest of a tree is suitable for wine corks."
Cork tree bark can be harvested every 9-12 years but the first and second harvest are NOT suitable for wine corks. Every subsequent harvest beginning at the third harvest is suitable for wine corks, meaning that the trees are much more productive than your second paragraph might lead readers to believe.
Robin, Thank you for brining attention to the issues concerning recycling wine corks. Our nonprofit organization, Cork ReHarvest,not only works to recycle some of the billions of natural corks that come into the US each year, but also to educate people about the potential devastation of the Mediterranean cork forests. Please visit our website: corkreharvest.org to learn more.
The e-mail address to send for a reply from David is as follows . shortypa47@hotmail.com . You send the corks and I will recycle them . I am non-profit so paying for shipping is out of the question .