When it comes to recycling, paper, plastic, aluminum cans, and glass are the most common household items that are recirculated. As important as it is to repurpose those materials, there is another item to add to your recycling bin, wine corks. Although cork might be an unexpected choice for recyclers, it has proven to be incredibly impactful. Cork has a significant presence in several industries including sporting goods, construction, technology and the obvious food and beverage market. In just one year’s time, 13 billion bottles of wine are consumed, making wine stoppers one of the most popular everyday uses of cork. Not only are natural wine corks durable, but also biodegradable, renewable, and energy efficient. This is exactly the type of material environmental companies are eager to use.
The Canadian footwear company, SOLE, was no exception. In 2008, SOLE created North America’s largest recycling program for natural wine cork entitled ReCORK. Mike Baker, CEO of ReCORK explains, “Part of growing a business responsibly is diminishing the impact our actions have on the environment. We are thrilled to pioneer cork recycling because cork is such an amazing, natural raw material with benefits that extend beyond bottle stoppers.”
The program’s process is simple. ReCORK collects, grinds, ships, and manufactures recycled cork into eco friendly products. This material is used to provide natural and sustainable substitutions for petroleum-based products, such as foams and plastics. By monitoring their carbon footprint, ReCORK’s operational impact is minimized. Their factories run on hydro-electric power and encourage cork shipping via carbon offsetting methods. Not only have these efforts reduced ReCORK’s carbon footprint, but they have now gone from carbon neutral to carbon negative. To take it a step further, the program harvests and plants regenerative cork oak trees.
Rainforest-alliance.org explains what cork oak is and its environmental benefits. Cork oak provides a sustainable and renewable timber product, making it a valuable genus. Although cork is primarily used as a wine stopper, it is also used for olive oil and other products. Because it is impenetrable to gasses and liquids, it has also been utilized to make flooring, furniture, and footwear. The tree utilizes additional carbon in the regeneration of its bark, allowing a harvested cork tree to be able to store up to five times more carbon than an unharvested tree. Cork oak trees also help increase the absorption rate of rainfall by preventing soil erosion from wind and water. Each year cork oak forests account for 10 million tons of CO2 absorption. The process of harvesting cork oak bark is actually beneficial for the trees, and can increase their life span. The life cycle of a cork oak can be over 300 years, continuously producing a sustainable crop. Cork also extends the life of natural materials, keeping them out of the waste stream, and as a result, supports the conservation of the cork oak forests.
The collection of natural wine corks is a collaborative effort between businesses and individuals to repurpose them. ReCORK has over 1,700 recycling partnerships helping drive their mission. There are several ways to partner with ReCORK, varying from public, private, and event partnerships. Public collection locations include wineries, liquor stores, office spaces, and grocery stores. Private partnerships apply to establishments that collect corks on the back end of their businesses such as bars, restaurants, and wineries. Wine tastings, pouring events, and other festivals fall under event partnerships. Even if your business doesn’t fit into any of these categories, becoming a re-use partner is still an option. Recycled cork is available for other businesses to purchase which is a highly sustainable option for source materials.
So far, more than 128 million wine corks have been collected. ReCORK encourages neighbors and communities to band together in the recirculating process. If you are not a wine drinker yourself, chances are, you know someone who is. In an effort to be as economically and environmentally efficient as possible, shipment sizes must be at least 15 lbs and preferably via a carbon neutral shipping program. The 15 lb minimum shipping weight is challenging to achieve for single individuals. This is especially motivating for the ReCORK community to unite together in their collective efforts.
ReCORK.com provides helpful information and answers commonly asked questions. Convenient drop off location finders are also available. For more information and ways to get involved, please contact info@recork.com.
