TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

See that recycling bin? Put a cork in it

Photo by TerraCycle

ABC Fine Wine & Spirits stores across Florida are the latest entry into a relatively young cork-recycling movement.

ADVERTISEMENT

By NEIL JOHNSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 14, 2009

TAMPA - That cork from your next wine bottle could have a second life as flooring, as a car engine gasket or even wrapped around the handle of a fishing rod.

Cork has joined the ranks of items to recycle instead of tossing in the trash.

ABC Fine Wine & Spirits stores across Florida are the latest entry into a relatively young cork-recycling movement with collection boxes at most of the chain's 150 locations.

In mid-September, the company started placing containers in stores for people to drop off corks and should ship its first load by the end of this month, said Lorena Streeter, a spokeswoman for ABC Fine Wine & Spirits, which is based in Orlando.

Right now, the thousands of collected corks sit in boxes in the company warehouse, she said.

The chain is the latest in a small group pushing to keep the corks out of landfills. It is a relatively new idea.

Yemm & Hart, a company based in Missouri that makes building materials with recycled products, may have the oldest cork-recycling effort.

In 2004, the company started collecting corks that were mailed in that are converted into tiles for walls or floors.

A California-based effort started in 2007 called ReCork America, which also takes donated corks, has amassed nearly 4 million, said Roger Archey, spokesman for the program and Amorim of Portugal, a major producer of wine corks that sponsors the effort.

Most of the corks come from California wineries that have surplus corks and open plenty of bottles for tastings, he said. Some stores also have collection bins for the public.

It is mostly focused in California, the country's most wine-thirsty state.

Until recently, the program was more successful at collecting the corks than finding something to do with them. A million were shipped to Portugal for recycling, but that proved to be inefficient, Archey said.

"It was too costly and had too much of a carbon footprint," he said. "It didn't work out."

ReCork reached an agreement this month with a Canadian company to use recycled corks in footwear products.

Cork from the bark of the cork oak is recycled by grinding it into a powder that can be used for bulletin boards, tiles, engine gaskets and insulation. It also can be used to wrap the handles of fishing rods.

"It is a natural product. It's a perfect fit for recycling," Archey said.

There is a bountiful supply of wine corks for recycling. About 13 billion are produced each year from the 6 million acres of cork oak groves around the Mediterranean Sea. Cork is taken from the bark of trees that can live up to two centuries. The trees are not cut down to harvest the cork.

The corks dropped off at ABC stores won't be recycled in the traditional sense. Instead, they will be made into cork boards using the whole cork, said Emily Bradford, a spokeswoman for TerraCycle, the firm making the boards.

The boards are sold to retailers such as Target and office-supply companies or online.

Another difference with the ABC program is that TerraCycle donates 2 cents to charities for each cork. Streeter said the money will go to a pair of charities the chain supports in the Orlando area.

The company hasn't tallied the corks collected, but store managers in the Tampa Bay area are pushing the effort, said Bill Stobbs, regional wine supervisor for ABC.

"We're seeing a good response. Some store managers are talking to restaurants about collecting the corks," he said.

Reporter Neil Johnson can be reached at (813) 259-7731.

Share this:

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT