Have you ever wondered what happens to the corks in wine bottles as they’re tossed into the recycling bin? Natural corks are biodegradable, but that can take years in a landfill and they don’t get recycled with the bottle. What if you can turn them into something useful? The California Wine Club (cawineclub.com) is conducting a nationwide cork drive in partnership with ReCORK (ReCORK.org).
Reusing cork material is a small way to get into the habit of making use of a natural product beyond its initial purpose. Rather than relying on manmade or petroleum-based product, we can go for something natural that can be reused. It’s a small step toward getting into the habit of looking at alternatives that are better for our environment.
The goal is to help ReCORK reach 20 million corks collected by September 30, 2011, at which point ReCORK will plant 1,000 trees in the Mediterranean oak forests to celebrate the milestone. These forests provide a vital source of income for thousands of families of the region and support one of the world’s highest levels of forest biodiversity. The trees are not cut down; rather their bark is harvested every 9 years. Not only that, but a harvested tree absorbs more carbon and each tree can live up to 200 years.
In addition to facilitating cork collection, The California Wine Club will be giving away memberships valued at $150 and shoes from SOLE Footwear (yoursole.com), one of ReCORK’s partners in putting used corks to good use. Interested wine drinkers can follow the cork drive on Twitter @CWCcorkdrive and “like” The California Wine Club Cork Drive Facebook page where they can learn about returning cork and participate in regular drawings to win memberships or shoes. More info: cawineclub.com
Stay tuned to learn how to win prizes through hoopLA by sending in all your corks!
