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.

Echoing the call: Help Haiti any way you can

I was somewhat surprised to get an e-mail last week from the International Medical Corps (IMC), asking me if I'd mention their Haiti earthquake relief efforts in this blog and let people know how to help.

This blog doesn't get a ton of traffic, which is why I was surprised to be noticed. Happily surprised, though!

Since I had never heard of IMC, I did some quick research and found that yes, they are for real -- CNN lists them on its Impact Your World/How to Help Haiti page. IMC is a global, humanitarian, nonprofit organization, founded by volunteer doctors and nurses and dedicated to saving lives and relieving suffering through relief and development programs. Its emergency relief team is in Haiti. Thousands of injured quake victims need medical assistance. To donate $10 to IMC, text the word "Haiti" to 85944. You can also visit their Web site to donate larger amounts.

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Get more info about helping Haiti from these sites:

- CNN has a huge list of aid organizations, what they are providing, and how to text donations to some of them
- The Greater Washington Haiti Relief Committee. This site lists many ways you can help by donating or volunteering.

GWHRC site has a mention of how GreenTHINK, a network of environmental stewards located in the DC Metro Region, would like to sponsor a doctor or nurse who wishes to volunteer their services in Haiti but need financial assistance with travel, food, etc. Kudos to GreenTHINK! It shows how non-profits and NGOs of all types are responding to help.

- CitySports. In the spirit of helping and of reuse, CitySports is supporting Soles4Souls' effort to collect 1 million pairs of shoes for Haiti. Starting Monday, January 25th, through February 7th customers can drop off gently worn men’s, women’s and children’s footwear to any City Sports location. Soles4Souls is a Nashville-based charity that collects shoes from warehouses of footwear companies and the closets of people like you. They distribute these shoes, free of charge, to people in need around the world.

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I'm a one-man operation here. I've made a donation to the Red Cross for Haiti relief. Please do what you can to help our brothers and sisters in Haiti.