Can I recycle wine corks?: Dear Recycling Bins

Dear Recycling Bins, I’m a bit of a wine connoisseur. There’s nothing better than a bottle of red at the end of the week to wind down from the busyness of life. However, I have built up quite a collection of corks. I read somewhere that I can’t recycle wine corks, is that true? If I can’t recycle them, what should I do with them?

Thank you for your question! Synthetic corks and screw tops can go into your recycling bin. However, natural cork is not accepted by recycling schemes. You shouldn’t put it in your waste bin either, as most won’t break down on landfill. But don’t worry, there are ways that you can recycle wine corks.

How Can I Recycle Wine Corks?

Recorked UK is a natural cork recycling programme. You donate your corks to the scheme and the company either resell them or donates them to charities and schools for arts and crafts projects. A percentage of the profit the company makes from selling the corks also goes to charity. What’s not to love? If you want to recycle wine corks, just put them in a small bag or box and post them to:

Recorked UK
22 Newquay Close
Walsall
West Midlands
WS5 3EP

Can I Reuse Wine Corks?

Reusing your wine corks is easy! You can use them in a compost bin, or chop them up and layer them in a planter. One of the best things is using them to make cork boats! A fun activity with children it's an ideal way to reuse your wine corks.

Recycle wine corks in the garden

You can break natural wine corks up and put them into your compost bin. You can also chop them up and layer them in the bottom of a planter to help with drainage.

Use them to prevent finger pricks

Ever been rummaging in a drawer and accidentally touched the sharp tip of one of your kitchen utensils? An ingenious way to recycle wine corks (and protect your fingers) is to poke sharp tips into the corks. If you enjoy sewing, you can use wine corks in the same way to collect your needles and pins.

Recycle wine corks around the house

Just installed new flooring? Well, you can slice up some corks and glue them to the bottom of any heavy furniture or objects that might scuff it.

One for the kids: Cork Boat

You can recycle your wine corks and make bath time more fun. Why not make some little boats that actually float?

Here’s what you need:

• At least 3 wine corks
• Elastic bands
• Paper or card
• Scissors
• Cocktail sticks or wooden skewers

How to make a boat from recycled wine corks

• Join the 3 corks together with the elastic bands. You can use PVA glue to glue them together first if you want your boat to be extra secure.
• Next, cut two sail shapes from your paper or card, then two little diamond shapes (these will be the flags).
• Make holes in the sails then thread them onto your cocktail stick or wooden skewer.
• Poke the pointy end of the cocktail stick or skewer into the middle cork.
• Fold the small diamond shapes and glue them to the top of the cocktail stick or skewer.

We hope we’ve given you some inspiration on how you can recycle wine corks and keep them out of landfills. For more interesting articles on all things recycling, check out the rest of our blog.