We can already tell you that it’s neither in the common garbage nor in the traditional recycling bins. Discover where to discard the cork stoppers you’ve been accumulating at home.
A dinner with friends, a bottle to celebrate, or a glass of wine for no special reason. Every time you open a bottle of wine, it produces another cork stopper. Before you throw it away, read this text.
Although cork stoppers are often disposed this way, they should not be put in the general waste, but neither should they got in none of the recycling bins. Ideally, you should find a container where you can store them and then dispose of them in bins specially designed for this purpose.
Sociedade Ponto Verde told Peggada that these cork stoppers can be delivered to supermarkets such as Continente (in Portugal) through Quercus’ Green Cork project. In the case of Continente (Portuguese supermarket), the cork stoppers should be placed in the “rolhinhas” (a bin created for this purpose) or handed in at the Customer Service desk in all Continente hypermarkets and Continente Bom Dia stores throughout Portugal, including the Azores and Madeira.
You can also hand over the cork stoppers at GaiaShopping and ArrábidaShopping. If you have a large quantity of cork stoppers, they can be handed over at the shopping center’s Information Desk.
You can also find a “rolhinhas” bin atLipor, at the Ecocentro da Formiga, in Bouça da Macieira in Ermesinde.
If you keep an eye out, you’ll find other small collection points in some parts of Portugal. In Lisbon, for example, you can find a “rolhinhas” at Mercado de Arroios.
We leave the explanation to Green Cork: “Once the cork stoppers have been collected, they go to the cork recycling plant. The first cork recycling plant is owned by Amorim Cork Composites, a subsidiary of Amorim, and is located in Mozelos. Once the cork stoppers have been unloaded, they have to be sorted manually to check the quality and condition of the stoppers, as well as to remove possible contaminants such as plastic stoppers, bottle caps or others that are placed in the stoppers. The cork stoppers are then ground up to be used again in the production process of other products made from granulated cork. When the granules are heavily marked with dyes, wine and odors, they have to undergo a series of washing and disinfection treatments. Cork granules are used in a huge variety of products, from coverings to design products or in transport as varied as subways and aerospace shuttles.”
Until the end of November, eight architectural and design installations in public spaces by world-renowned architects and designers are on show in Belém and Trafaria.
The recycling of the stoppers avoids the release of the gas into the atmosphere and allows the CO2 retention capacity of the cork to be
This article promotes an action that encourages the reduction of waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling, and reuse.
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