Wine cork recycling takes root

Friday, 11 December 2009 20:44

ReCork America works to keep wine stoppers out of landfills and put them back in use as mulch, wine shipping containers and even shoe soles. The program began two years ago as a pilot, with Archey visiting vineyards and asking for their used natural corks. When he gathered more than a half million stoppers, he knew ReCork was on to something. Cork maker Amorim supports a storage facility in Northern California, to amass about six tons of natural cork to send to Portugal. A repurposing factory and Portuguese workforce awaits delivery to convert the stoppers into insulation, floor tiles or even shoe soles. ReCork would love to avoid the carbon footprint involved in shipping the corks around the world.