Because it is 100% natural, biodegradable and renewable, natural cork is a perfect product for recycling. It can be used to make products such as cork flooring, shoe soles, soil conditioner, sports equipment, building insulation and more.
Natural cork is made up of billions of cells. This gives cork its buoyant, elastic quality as well as the ability to absorb and retain nearly 9 grams of CO2 throughout the life of a wine cork. And with 15 billion corks sold each year worldwide, cork is an important source of CO2 retention.
Although many believe that the growing use of synthetic corks and screw caps in the wine industry is due to the possible endangerment of the cork forests that is simply not true. In fact, it is the use of alternative wine closures that is directly affecting the degradation of cork forest ecosystems and the loss of sustainable livelihoods. Here's why:
Cork harvesting is an environmentally friendly process during which not a single tree is cut down. The bark is stripped every 9-12 years, after which it renews itself for the next harvesting. Cork oaks can live for up to 300 years! The stripping of the cork oak causes higher absorption of carbon dioxide by the tree which, in turn, serves to protect the diverse ecosystem of the cork oak landscapes.
In areas where cork forests are prevalent (mostly Portugal, Spain, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and France - approximately 6.6 million acres!), their maintenance is a vital source of income for the residents of those regions. The decreasing use of natural wine stoppers will ultimately have a devastating effect on those regions' economies.
Approximately 70% of bark stripped from the cork oak is used for wine closures. It is critical that the commercial value of cork stoppers be maintained in order to save the ecosystems and economies of the cork oak landscapes. Keeping our corks out of the trash and reusing them is a giant step towards achieving this. Save your corks!
