Even if you are a teetotaler, you definitely are aware that a summer weekend is a time when lots and lots of wine gets opened and finished. I’d wager a bet that most folks get the bottles into the recycling system more often than not…but what about the corks?
Now, of course, there are lots of very fine wines with screwtops (once upon a time the symbol of rotgut vino, but no more) and plastic corks…but the good old fashioned stripped form the tree cork? Unless you’re collecting them for your next Etsy craft adventure, they probably get tossed in the trash.
STOP!
Recycle your corks with ReCORK, America’s largest cork recycling initiative. With the help of over 1,700 recycling partners in the wine and hospitality industries, as well as individuals like you and me, they have recycled more than 49 million corks! They grind them up and up cycle them for use in shoes and other consumer goods. Harvesting cork is good for the cork trees and actually extends their lifecycle, and cork represents the lowest carbon footprint of wine stopper options…and now there is an aftermarket solution for responsible continued life. ReCORK goes the extra mile and plants new trees, too—over 8,000 planted so far!
Chances are good that there is a participating center or retailer near you that will receive your gathered corks—check for drop-off locations at this link. It’s a great and celebratory way to engage and get involved in the recycling/sustainability world…and besides…you don’t really want that wine cork bulletin board up on your wall, do you?
Change by Doing 
Posted by allysonsvoice on July 11, 2014 at 4:55 PM
I heart cork!! Also sustaining trees! Thanx for the 411.