Cork Forest Conservation Alliance | Cork Facts - Cork Forest Conservation Alliance

Unlike natural corks, many synthetic wine corks are made from materials that are not biodegradable and are not sustainably sourced. Disadvantages of synthetic corks include; a difficulty in extracting them from the bottle, the inability to use the plastic cork to reseal the wine, and that some can also impart a slight chemical flavor to the wine.
Aluminum screwcaps are not actively being recycled due to their size and the systems that sort recyclable materials. The production of screwcaps gives off over 10kg of CO₂ per ton compared with 2.5kg of CO₂ per ton for corks, according to tests conducted by Cairn Environment for Oeneo Bouchage in France.

Cork is a 100% natural, renewable, recyclable and biodegradable material that is obtained through an environmentally friendly harvesting process.

Trees are not cut down to harvest cork, rather, the bark is harevsted by hand every 9 years. Cork oak trees can live up to 300 years!

Approximately 6.6 million acres of Mediterranean cork forest extend across Portugal, Spain, Algeria, Morocco, Italy, Tunisia and France. These oak forests support one of the world’s highest levels of forest biodiversity, second only to the Amazonian Rainforest.

Opting for screw caps and plastic stoppers directly causes the loss of sustainable livelihoods as the cork forests are a vital source of income for thousands of families.

There is enough cork in the cork forests of Portugal and Spain to last more than 100 years. The introduction of new products, such as composite corks, allows even better utilization of existing cork resources, using granulated cork that can be obtained from smaller pieces of raw cork otherwise unusable in the production of conventional punched cork.

Cork is a 100% natural, renewable, recyclable and biodegradable material that is obtained through an environmentally friendly harvesting process.

Trees are not cut down to harvest cork, rather, the bark is harvested by hand every 9 years. Cork oak trees can live up to 300 years!

Approximately 6.6 million acres of Mediterranean cork forest extend across Portugal, Spain, Algeria, Morocco, Italy, Tunisia and France. These oak forests support one of the world’s highest levels of forest biodiversity, second only to the Amazonian Rainforest.

Opting for screw caps and plastic stoppers directly causes the loss of sustainable livelihoods as the cork forests are a vital source of income for thousands of families.

There is enough cork in the cork forests of Portugal and Spain to last more than 100 years. The introduction of new products, such as composite corks, allows even better utilization of existing cork resources, using granulated cork that can be obtained from smaller pieces of raw cork otherwise unusable in the production of conventional punched cork.

Unlike natural corks, many synthetic wine corks are made from materials that are not biodegradable and are not sustainably sourced. Disadvantages of synthetic corks include; a difficulty in extracting them from the bottle, the inability to use the plastic cork to reseal the wine, and that some can also impart a slight chemical flavor to the wine.
Aluminum screwcaps are not actively being recycled due to their size and the systems that sort recyclable materials. The production of screwcaps gives off over 10kg of CO₂ per ton compared with 2.5kg of CO₂ per ton for corks, according to tests conducted by Cairn Environment for Oeneo Bouchage in France.

Cork Facts