I’m always interested in recycling stories.
The [Oregon-based nonprofit Cork Forest Conservation Alliance], whose donors include vineyards, want to remind oenophiles that cork products are made from the bark of the cork tree, which regenerates and is harvested every nine years, director Patrick Spencer said.
With no severe shortage of corks, he said, there is no reason to eschew cork corks for plastic corks.
The corks will eventually be taken to Whole Foods, a partner of the alliance. From there they’re trucked to Missouri, where they’re recycled into cork flooring and other products for sale. The company that recycles and sells the material is an alliance donor, Spencer said.
Globally, 13 billion wine corks are produced each year, the majority in Portugal, Spencer said. The alliance has recycled 35 tons of cork since 2008, mostly through 290 participating members in the United States, he said.
You can read more about the alliance and Cork ReHarvest at the Whole Foods blog. All Whole Foods markets are drop off locations for your used wine corks, which was not yet the case at the time I last blogged about this. And if you happen to buy wine that has a synthetic cork, that’s basically plastic and should be recycled as well.
Spec’s takes corks