Recycling Corks
Wine and champagne corks are collected from various drop off points across Australia by community groups such as The Girl Guides, Friends of the Zoos and Green Collect in Melbourne and MND (Motor Neuron Disease) Victoria. These groups recycle the corks to raise funds for their initiatives and programs.
About Cork Oak Trees
Cork is derived from the bark of the cork oak tree, Quercus suber, which has grown in the western Mediterranean region for thousands of years, primarily in Portugal. Cork oak trees must be 25 years old before their first harvest. A further 9 years must pass before another harvest can be made - this helps to ensure that cork is a sustainably harvested resource.
Cork oak trees provide valuable habitat for a wide variety of birds and wildlife. Cork oak forests are vital to maintaining the delicate ecosystems of the Mediterranean region. Various bird species, including the endangered Spanish Imperial Eagle, depend on the cork forests for their habitat.
Environmentally Friendly Packaging
Cork has been used for thousands of years - Ancient Egyptians and Greeks used cork to make cylindrical seals. Using cork for bottling wines began in 1680, when a French Benedictine monk, Dom Pérignon, first used cork for champagne. In 1750 the first cork factory was opened in Spain.
Cork is one of the few forms of packaging that is environmentally friendly. Unlike plastic corks, natural cork is renewable, fully recyclable, biodegradable and totally natural. None of the cork bark is wasted during the cork production process - the cork residue is granulated for other cork products and even the cork dust is used for fuel.
Importance of Recycling Cork
By recycling cork stoppers, the useful life of the cork is extended. The material is diverted from landfill and can be used to manufacture a range of products such as floor tiles.
Recycling cork saves resources and reduces demand placed on cork plantations. Approximately 550 tonnes of cork is imported into Australia annually, of which less than 5% is recycled. By recycling cork in Australia, rather than harvesting and importing from overseas, energy use and carbon emissions are minimised, and money is saved.
The Girl Guides are world pioneers in cork recycling, beginning their program in 1990. Since then, this program alone collected over 160 million corks throughout Australia. That's 20.7 tonnes for just the first 6 months of 2008! Currently, other community organizations including MND Victoria, Friends of the Zoos and Green Collect also collect corks for recycling.
Cork Collections
Corks can be dropped off to a wide network of collection points including hotels, and bottle shops, restaurants, retail outlets and banks.
To find a recycling point in your local area, visit RecyclingNearYou - search for 'Corks' and enter your postcode or suburb.
Why not set up a cork collection box at your business, restaurant, café, wine bar or at your house? Contact the Girl Guides Office in your state to set up a collection point near you.
What Happens After?
After collection, corks are sorted, foreign debris removed and corks sent to local manufacturers. Recycled cork isn't used again for wine stoppers, but is incorporated into such diverse products as memo boards, placemats, coasters, floor tiles, gaskets, horse-float mats, boat decking and inners for hockey and cricket balls.
Australia has the world's largest wine cork recycling plant run by Logic Australia that produces a variety of products including flooring made from 100% recycled material.
