I have been saving corks to

Urbanfrugal — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 20:25:57 -0500

I have been saving corks to make a tray. I saw one in a wine lovers accessories catalog but I am sure by going ot a thrift store I can find a tray and just glue the corks onto the tray itself and then put a preservative on it.

I'm rather crafty and I have the knack of looking at craft pictures and figuring out how to put things together myself. If you aren't that crafty, you could buy the kit which provides the tray, preservative and directions.

http://www.urbanfrugal.com

Nondorky Cork Project

Condo Blues — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 20:12:43 -0500

I had a cork collection going too waiting for the next great ??? project. I ended up using my cork collection to fill cloth draft dodgers instead of fberfill, which I didn't have, or rice, which I did have but rather eat.

Why don't decorating and DIY projects always work out like they do on TV? Condo Blues http://condo-blues.blogspot.com/

lmao... dare I say

nelle2nelle — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 21:53:22 -0500

that my ex started a Cork Collection, and *cough* we had two big baskets full. (We scoured every street we walked for them. Yeah sure, you will believe that...) The harder part is we were also rather partial to beer, and um... margaritas.

Alas, I'm no longer in Corkville, so I can't try any of the kewl suggestions you've offered up. One more suggestion... it is political season, and well... keep some handy when you feel the urge to say 'put a cork in it."

nelle

Uncorked: Recycling for winos

greenlagirl — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 18:16:46 -0500

While enviros have a rep for hoarding all manner of crap for fugly craft projects, wine corks are one of those items that even avowedly non-enviros tend to collect in jars or other clear containers, for reasons that remain somewhat unclear to me (perhaps as a reminder of good times had while slightly tipsy?).

So for all of you with a cork stash that's getting too large, here's a roundup of eco ways to dispose of said stash:

1. Compost or mulch them. Umbra of Grist points out that traditional cork's "an organic material, aka oak-tree bark, and could take the place of bark mulch if you use it -- or any brown, carbonaceous material in your compost pile."

* Pro: Free.
* Con: Requires a compost pile, green bin, or garden -- meaning this option's a no-go for most apartment dwellers. Doesn't work for plastic corks.

2. Send them in to get recycled into tiles. I found out via Karina at Tiny Choices that a company called Yemm & Hart wants your corks. The plan's to turn said corks into eco-friendly tiles, which will hopefully sell, allowing Y&H to turn this corky scheme into a profitable business, which will hopefully eventually allow Y&H to compensate cork-senders. Send 'em to Wine Cork Recycling, Yemm & Hart Ltd, 610 S. Chamber Dr., Fredericktown, MO 63645.

* Pro: Comfort knowing your corks'll get a new life as good looking, eco tiles.
* Con: Must pay for postage. Incurs travel miles (and resulting CO2 emissions). Doesn't work for plastic corks.

3. Send them in to get recycled into "cool products." TerraCycle's now accepting wine corks -- both natural and synthetic -- which the company will turn "into cool products that will be available nationally at major retailers." If you've got fewer than 100 corks, all you have to do is mail them in to TerraCycle, ATTN: Cork Brigade, 121 New York Ave., Trenton, NJ 08638.

* Pro: Both plastic and traditional corks are accepted. TerraCycle's a cool company.
* Con: Must pay for postage. Incurs travel miles (and resulting CO2 emissions). Some of TerrCycle's "cool products" are actually kinda fugly.

4. Make Korknisses -- and a GI Joe raft. Korknisses appear to be little decorative cork people, perfect as holiday decorations and such. I found out them because my sister knit some cute ones -- which inspired her husband to create a lil cork raft -- which was discovered to float quite well in a bathtub, keeping the korknisses safe and dry.

* Pro: Process may turn into fun, spontaneous bonding time between two people. End product is cute.
* Con: Requires knitting skills and investment in a glue gun. Playing with korknisses and raft could get boring over time for intelligent adults.

5. Make other crafty stuff. Trivets are a popular corky project -- my sis made one of those too (right) -- but you can find all sorts of ideas for DIY projects incorporating wine corks just by a lil googling.

* Pro: Crafting is fun. Reuse is satisfying for the eco-soul.
* Con: Resulting piece has high probability of being eco-fugly. Even Umbra of Grist warns against the "infamous hideous trivet."

Last but not least: Consider opting for wines stopped with traditional corks whenever possible. After all, plastics are forever -- and one has time to play with only so many kornisses --

Images top to bottom: jeffsmallwood, via TerraCycle, via yoelknits

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BlogHer Contributing Editor Siel also blogs at greenLAgirl.com

BlogHer - Uncorked: Recycling for winos - Comments

I have been saving corks to

Nondorky Cork Project

lmao... dare I say

Uncorked: Recycling for winos