Recycle Wine Corks
March 6, 2009 at 4:48 pm 13 comments
Reduce, reuse, and recycle your cork
It may seem like a tiny portion of the waste stream, but 340,000 tons of cork are harvested annually. 13 billion (yes, with a ‘B’) cork wine stoppers are made every year. So rather than throw these little stoppers into the landfill, here are a few helpful tid-bits.
Reduce. Some wine makers are going to screw top lids or plastic corks, which actually work better than their cork counterparts, but these items are not as readily recyclable.
Reuse. If you are feeling froggy, I found a few (very fun looking) DIY projects with corks. Click on the pictures to get to the respective websites.
Create a chess set from used cork
This Old House reuses wine corks to make a decorative boarder, a moisture rich mulch, a straight picture maker, fire starters, and more.
Make a trivet out of used wine corks
or make a tray
Don't forget to decorate the walls with your wreath made of corks.
Terracycle shows how to make a cork board or they will collect them from you to make their own.
How adventurous are you feeling? Cork chair by Gabriel Wiese via the Love My Earth blog. There are tons of other wonderful ideas here like place card holders (which are similar to ones I had at my wedding), coasters, and more.
...or there is always this...
Recycle. Several services offer cork recycling.
- The EcoSpheric Blog looks at Korks for Kids
- Yemm & Hart recycles corks
- ReCork America
- TerraCycle
- Cork ReHarvest for Willamette Valley Vineyards via Whole Foods. Learn more at stumptown savoury
Update: For information about the future of cork stoppers please read this post by Pays to Live Green.
recycle more,
Recycle Raccoon
Entry filed under: Facts & Figures, Natural Resources, Recycling, Reduce & Reuse. Tags: .
1.
Suzanne | March 29, 2009 at 9:08 am
Nice upcycling ideas, but the chair looks a little precarious! LOL
2. Cork Creep - Being Invaded by Tree Bark! | Vegas Wineaux | June 17, 2009 at 5:17 am
[...] Recycle Wine Corks (recycle raccoon) [...]
3.
M. Lo | July 5, 2009 at 6:13 am
I ALWAYS SAVE wine corks. They’re beautiful! And your ideas are fabulous! Innovative, Practical and Good Looking!
4.
george | July 6, 2009 at 9:47 am
Wine corks strung like beads also make a unique room divider.
5.
Debo Hobo | July 8, 2009 at 6:48 am
Fantastic ideas, I have a big glass vase full of these things on my bar….I see a wine tray in their future LOL:)
6. 25 Things to do With Used Corks (Including Making Money With Them) - Go Green - SustainLane | September 3, 2009 at 3:21 am
[...] [...]
7.
Annette Renee White | December 15, 2009 at 10:36 am
Those are fantastic ideas. I created a large cork board with hundreds of mine, but I still have more corks to use!
http://mslistologist.com/?p=42
8.
Elvin | January 9, 2010 at 1:15 pm
I was in a Trader Joe’s store recently and saw that they are recycling corks.
9.
Mandy Hardan | January 15, 2010 at 11:24 pm
I have a huge basket full of wine corks, and I was going to make a corkboard out of them, but then I quickly realized I have NO room for one in my kitchen! I love that wall chair rail/border idea! That would be beautiful in a house!
My question, though, are the foam/plastic corks recyclable? I can’t seem to find the answer anywhere!
10.
A Trivet in Cork « Spring Stitches | March 27, 2010 at 5:40 pm
[...] collection was started in Cork. Two blog posts that may inspire you to look at corks in a new way: Recycle Raccoon’s Easy Going Green – Recycle Wine Corks (March 2009) Terramia – Crazy for Corks (May 2007) If you are [...]
11.
sharyn sharer | December 5, 2010 at 8:09 am
love these ideas. Just posted on facebook – if you have any corks or glass jars I need them
12. A Trivet Made of Repurposed Wine Corks | EvinOK | May 2, 2012 at 6:17 am
[...] blog posts that may inspire you to look at corks in a new way: Recycle Raccoon’s Easy Going Green - Recycle Wine Corks (March 2009) Terramia - Crazy for Corks (May [...]
13.
How to Make a Trivet from Upcycled Wine Corks | Spring Stitches | May 5, 2012 at 9:21 am
[...] blog posts that may inspire you to look at corks in a new way: Recycle Raccoon’s Easy Going Green - Recycle Wine Corks (March 2009) Terramia - Crazy for Corks (May [...]