Yesterday Kathy commented on the collection of wine bottle natural corks by ReCORK by Amorin. Give them a call when you have 15 pounds of corks; that’s 1650 corks. The problem for the general consumer is saving 1650 corks. They may be willing to save a couple, even several but won’t want hundreds of corks laying around their house or apartment. The ReCORK program works well for winery tasting rooms, wine shops, even restaurants. Consumers can take their corks to those places.

If wine consumers frequent a Whole Foods Market, they can deposit their corks (any number) in a CorkReharvest box. There are close to 300 Whole Food Market stores in many communities. On the CorkReharvest.org website I learned that the program was established in 2008 and has already collected billions of natural corks. In addition to Whole Food Market, check grocery stores in your community, restaurants, wine bars and convention and performing arts centers to see if they are collecting corks.

It’s important to note that recycled corks are not used any longer as closures in wine bottles. New cork has to be harvested and made into cork enclosures. The cork industry has improved their manufacturing process and can supply new corks to enclose wine bottles for many decades to come. Meanwhile, used corks can be recycled into a variety of products.

Cheers,
Terry