Can You Recycle Wine Bottle Cork
Most of the worlds cork production is used to make wine bottle cork, which is typically one-time use. Also, the wine bottle cork production leaves a lot of trimmings behind. I was curious to know what happens to the wine bottle cork and the trimmings after they are used?
Carlos: Many products like thick coasters and corkboard flooring, can be made from recycled wine bottle cork and trims. The cork is mashed, treated and pressed into new products. It is a natural and biodegradable product with amazing properties.
Wine bottle cork is fully biodegradable. However, these days many wine bottles have plastic closures that look like cork. Neither do they have the amazing quality of cork to protect the wines taste nor will they ever decompose. So, only put the real cork in the compost.
Selling Upcycled Bottles & Corks On Etsy
If you are good at making things and dont mind putting a little time and effort into making artwork out of your empty wine bottles and unused corks, Etsy is where you can make decent money selling em.
What can you make?
Take a look at wine bottles and wine corks on Etsy and youll find endless ideas and inspirations.
If Etsy is not your cup of tea, you can try one of many other sites like Etsy.
How Much Can You Sell These Things for?
It really depends on your art and how much people value it.
But one thing is for sure, though You can definitely charge way more for wine bottles and corks on Etsy.
People seem to pay much more for art and handmade stuff on Etsy than anywhere else.
As for exactly how much, it depends on your work. How much time and effort you put into each individual artwork.
Take a look around on Etsy and price your work accordingly.
Create A Wine Cork Wine Charm
If youre no stranger to wine parties, youve probably seen wine charms before. They are those small, cute decorations around the stems of wine glasses.
Some are made of plastic while others are made of colored glass. Apart from enabling a guest to keep up with their glass at a wine party when they set it down, they help round out a theme such as a themed party or wedding shower.
The best part about making charms out of wine corks is youre in control of the materials. Additionally, you can add or do without a few details if you want and you dont have to get so much done.
Heres how you should go about making wine cork wine charms. The materials youll need are:
- Pliers
- Charms or beads
- Small picture frame eye hook
Place a cork on a cutting board and cut it into slices using the knife. The surface on which you place the board has to be firm.
Select a shell for each of the slices. The shells have to be different.
Glue the shells to the center of the slices.
Carefully screw a small picture frame eye hook at the upper part of each charm.
For the wow factor, use pliers to add a bead or charm to the slices.
Fix the hoop earring notion to the eye hook and your wine charm is complete.
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Be Specific Without Going Crazy
Specifics always make a listing better, but if you have a variety of corks from different wineries, you dont have to list the names of all of them. However, if all of your corks are from the same winery or you have duplicates, definitely include that information. A buyer might need just what you have whether its corks from that specific winery or the uniformity of 100 corks.
Wine Shrink Caps To Protect Corks
Standard and plastic wine corks also help keep air from creating a flat taste due to air exposure. Using the right corks and stoppers can save wine from cork residue, and help keep gases and moisture from affecting the quality of the wine. To protect corks from breakdown during long-term storage, many wineries use wine shrink caps. When considering shrink bands to cover plastic, natural, and colmated wine corks and screw-caps, look for color choices for function and style. Some versions, like black wine caps, have tear tabs to make wine caps easier to remove.
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Where Does Cork Come From Who Grows Cork Trees
Carlos: All the cork trees and the land on which the trees grow is owned by one man, Americo Amorim and his company. Its a complete monopoly. Americo Amorim died, in July 2017 after a long and successful career, expanding on his forefathers businesses. He had been grooming his daughter for 30 years. She now controls the worlds supply of cork.
Cork The Everlasting Gift That Keeps Giving
We saw cork products everywhere in Porto and Lisbon street shopping and large stores. While cork oak trees grow all around the Mediterranean, North Africa, Spain, and Portugal, most of the worlds supply comes for Portugal. They thrive in the dry desolate regions where nothing grows. Cork trees withstand forest fires, protected by the same inner substance that makes wine bottle corks the best way to store wine.
The naturally occurring trees have been around for many millions of years through ice ages, fires, disease, and famine. The cork trees grow is very alkaline soil in some of the most barren and uninhabitable lands. They provide forestation where its not otherwise possible to grow. Cork is natures gift that keeps giving so much while taking so little.
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Tile Art And Cork Designs In Portugal
On my first encounter with Lisbon street vendors selling beautiful and unique cork purses and cork totes, I was clueless about the material, its significance or its story. Initially, I thought it was leather . Back then, I had yet to see the beautiful tile art all over Porto and Lisbon and only during the trip did I learn the story and art of tile design in Portugal.
Seeing the two modern cork products and traditional tile paintings side by side, the influence is clear. You can see traditional tile designs on cork products?
- Dark blue with white tiles
- A beautiful cork coaster.
- Blue tiles on a building
Wine Corks And Closures
We carry a large selection of corks for wine bottles as well as, screw caps, stoppers, and closures so you can seal your wine bottle any way you choose. Which cork should you use? While the answer can seem complicated, it comes down to this simple question: How long you want to age your wine?
For short term wine aging a #7 cork will work well. For medium term wine aging a #8 cork will do the trick. If you are trying to build a large and diverse wine cellar, we suggest using #9 corks. This will allow for long term aging .
Please note that using a #9 cork will require the use of a compression corker. We recommend making an investment in one of our floor corker options. While they are a little more expensive, they pay huge dividends in time saved and ease of use on bottling day.
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Selling Empty Bottles And Corks On Ebay
Some people have been recycling used wine corks, turning them into a wide variety of things Stamps, Wreath, Coasters, Key Chains, and even business card holders.
Just one step away from ending up in the garbage bin, these wine corks have been given a new lease on life by these artists and crafters who actually make money selling art they have created from trash
If you are one of those artists, then great, keeping making money.
But if youre not, but like the idea of making money with your old and unused wine corks, there is a way.
You can become the supplier for those artists!
1. Collect Bottles & Corks
First things first, start collecting wine bottles and corks you come across.
Ask friends and family to gives theirs to you if they dont need or want them.
You can, of course, take this one step further ask your local restaurants and bars and see if you can pick up their empty wine bottles and corks every few days or so.
Once you have enough bottles and corks, its time to clean them up. Plenty of hot water and a little soap will do the trick.
2. Get em Listed
Its as easy as taking a few pictures and creating a listing.
Take a look on eBay to see how successful sellers are doing it and do the same for your listings.
For example, some sellers sell their empty wine bottles in lots of 5 or 10. It allows them to sell more, faster.
How Much Can You Sell Wine Bottles & Corks on eBay?
As far as how much you can sell these things for, it really depends on a few things
A Chalkboard And Wine Cork Place Cards For Your Next Big Event
Make some chalkboard and wine cork place cards. You can reuse them again and again when hosting dinners! Wine lovers will really appreciate you thinking of them when you show off their names on corks from wines from all around the world!
You can buy the tiny chalkboards at any craft store, and you can stand them up with simple wooden sticks, dowels or even popsicle sticks.
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Wine Cork Coat Hooks Will Class Up The Place
Make your own coat hooks! Put one in your bedroom for your robe, one in the bathroom for your towel, and one by your front door for your actual coat! You can even have a bunch of them together for your hats!
Remember to use corks that have a round top, and that have the insignia of your favorite winery!
Wine Bottle Corks And Stoppers
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What To Buy In Portugal
With some research, I learned Portugal produces most of the cork and cork products, of the highest quality, in the world. Here is an excellent article on the Portuguese cork industry. It says that Portugal produces about half the world output of commercial cork, and its exports over recent years have accounted for around 70 percent of world trade. It goes on to provide statistics on cork production, area of the plantation, employment, and economics of the industry.
No wonder Portugal is famous for cork products. If youre wondering what is Portugal famous for or what to buy in Portugal definitely look into cork products of Portugal and beautiful tiles of Portugal. Youll support the Portuguese economy, the arts, sustainability and get a high-quality product for a fraction of the price in the US.
Cork products are lightweight and durable and best found in Portugal. Small items make great Portuguese souvenirs. Im usually looking for vegan alternatives to leather and cork purse, shoes, are absolutely vegan-friendly and suitable for Jains. Some Portugal cork products you can buys are
- Fashion accessories like cork purses, tote bags, crossbody bags, wallets, hats, ties, jewelry, and cork footwear.
- Souvenirs like postcards, decorative articles, keychain, magnet.
- Housewares like wine bottle stoppers, gift boxes, gift wraps, cork fabric, candle holders, hot-pads, potholder, and coasters.
How Do Cork Plantations Track Harvest Dates
Carlos: If you go to a cork tree plantation, youll see that each tree has a large number painted on it. The number is the year of the last cork harvest from that tree. By looking that the number, the growers know when the tree is ready for the next harvest.
Cork harvesting takes a lot of skill and practice. The cork must be harvested to maximize the yield and size of the bark, while protecting the inner layers. If the inner layer is damaged, the tree may die or not produce any more cork. The cork trees in Portugal are protected and harvesting practices are regulated. As a result, Portuguese cork oak trees can live for 150-200 years and produce the best quality of cork.
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The Long Journey And Lifecycle Of Cork
While the Cork Oak tree lives for 150-200 years, once separated from the tree, cork itself has a very long lifecycle.
- To start with, cork oak sapling is planted and cared for in large plantations.
- Once the plant is established, it must be maintained for 25 years.
- Cork is harvested carefully from the cork oak tree without damaging the tree itself. Every 9 years the bark will be ready for harvest.
- The harvested cork is processed for strength and durability.
- The manufacturers create cork products like wine bottle corks stopper, cork accessories, cork shoes, cork bags, cork flooring.
- Used wine bottle cork is recycled to make cheaper consumer cork products.
Wine Cork Coasters For Your Wine Glasses
Make some wine cork coasters to sit your wine glasses on. Its just the right thing to do! This design is both artistic and functional. Your guests will rave about these at your next dinner party and marvel at how creative you are! For this cork drink coaster craft you will need: wine corks, box cutter, sand paper and grab your hot glue gun!
Couple these with the DIY wine charms idea coming up, and you got yourself a winning formula.
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Make A Wine Cork Vase
At some point in time, flower fans put their precious plants in clay vases. Some still do. Then came the porcelain and glass vases that gave a whole new beautiful touch to flowers.
Theyre soft to the touch and can serve as more than a container for holding flowers. When chosen correctly, they can be perfect decorations and can also highlight a persons individuality.
The bummer with trends is once somethings in, almost everyone wants a piece of the trendy item. All the fun is sucked out since everyone is doing it as the cool kids would say.
Sadly, thats the case for vases too. Walk into any home and chances are youll find a glass vase or two in it.
Heres where you need to think out of the box and create wine cork vases. Theyre still pretty new in the market, are durable, and they are quite attractive.
Making one is a piece of cake and you wont have to strain your budget on supplies unless youre planning on turning your biz into a full-time gig.
Youll need:
- Glass vases
- Wine corks that are similar in length
Arrange your corks on one side of the vase until you find a pattern thats uniform in size. If necessary, neaten up the lengths with a knife.
Glue the corks on the vase by adding a dab of glue to the cork. Repeat this procedure until you cover the whole vase with corks.
For the sides of your vase, use thick corks.
Let the piece dry and voila! Theres your cork vase.
Make Some Cute Wine Cork Earrings
With wine corks, theres almost no limit to the fun that you can have with them. Throw in some adjustments and you have a cute pair of wine cork earrings.
You could make the simple pair that requires a serrated knife, a wine cork, a hot glue gun, earring backs, and a permanent marker.
Theyre easy to make and take a conveniently short time to create, but you wont get much from them. Two cents a pair tops.
Alternatively, you could up your game and go for a fancier pair thatll need:
- Metal wire
- Fish hook earrings
- Jewelry pliers
The first step is to decide how long you want your dangles to be. Then, cut a few inches of the metal wire for both earrings.
Use the pliers to twist the bottom of each wire piece into itself so beads wont fall out the other end when you put beads on it.
Cut two ¼ inch thin disks using the scissors or knife from the wine cork. You can cut out a different thickness depending on your choice.
Thread the cork piece and beads of your choice in an alternating pattern onto each wire. Leave roughly ¼ at the top of the wire to thread through the fish hook earring hooks.
Upon achieving the bead/cork decoration you had in mind, thread the upper part of the wire through the fish hook earring hook. Secure the wire around the entry hole in place using pliers.
For a stunning look, use whole corks, painted corks or colored corks plus the beads of your choice.
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Why Are Lisbon Shopping Streets Filled With Cork Products
Carlos: 70% of the worlds cork comes from Portugal. Portuguese have built the process to create the best cork products. They are the quintennial Portuguese local souvenir. Cork is part of Portugals everyday life in many ways.
The Portuguese have perfected the process of growing, extraction, and conversion to fine durable cork products.
Choosing A Closure For Wine
Natural cork has long been the standard for wineries to use to cap wine bottles, as they have proven to help in the aging process. However, other options like standard colmated corks have been developed and can provide almost identical benefits and lifespan. Colmated standard corks use cork dust to fill in air spaces in natural cork. They can also form to the shape of a wine bottle neck, and provide a smooth outer finish.
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