Don't Throw that Wine Cork Away--Recycle It!

I received an e-mail last week from Antoinette at Cork & Fork, a family-owned local wine store. Apparently last year they started collecting used corks from customers at their locations in Bethesda and Gainesville. Now they have a new store in D.C. at 1522 14th Street and it will also be a cork drop-off center.

What do they do with the corks? Cork & Fork collaborates with ReCORK America, which uses them to make shoes. Amorim, a Portugese company, and SOLE, a footwear manufacturer, sponsor the effort. So far, they've recycled 7.5 million corks--not all from D.C. : )

According to the ReCORK website, "There is no reason natural wine corks should end up as garbage when recycled cork can become flooring tiles, building insulation, automotive gaskets, craft materials, soil conditioner and sports equipment"

Apparently after ReCORK collect them, they grind the corks and then SOLE uses the ground corks in "a unique cork blend that enhances the material properties of their footwear products, and replaces some of the petroleum-based material with natural cork, a sustainable alternative."

Cork trees, ReCORK points out, are an important way to sequester carbon dioxide. Because cork bark is removed from a tree without killing the tree, the more cork bark grown and used, the more CO2 is taken from the atmosphere.

So there you have it. Enjoy your wine, save the cork--and drop it off at Cork & Fork.