Did you know 13 billion natural corks are produced each year?
For the casual wine drinker at home, natural corks can be recycled at any Whole Foods store. There are two locations nearby in Andover and Bedford.
If you are a Westford restaurant that goes through a lot of corks, consider recycling them. It’s easy with TerraCycle. They accept wine or champagne, natural or synthetic corks and make them into eco-friendly products.
Find out what's happening in Westfordfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Fill a box with corks, attach a prepaid shipping label, and drop it off at your local UPS. That’s it.
I work with TerraCycle to collect corks from businesses. If you are an interested business, contact me at kdfgreene@msn.com.
Find out what's happening in Westfordfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Why should you recycle corks?
Cork is 100% recyclable, biodegradable, and renewable. Trees do not need to be cut down. The bark is stripped by hand every 9–12 years.
The bark regenerates and the cork oak trees are capable of living for 300 years. After they are done keeping your bottle of wine sealed, they can continue to be useful. There is no reason for them to end up as waste. Used wine or champagne corks can be recycled into shoes, flooring tiles, building insulation, and craft materials.