Corks and Yma Sumac

Have you ever wondered what to so with all those left over corks from your wine bottles? Instead of throwing them away or turning them into a corkboard craft project, you can know recycle them at your local Whole Foods. Here is an excerpt from a press release from ReCORK America:

“ReCORK America announced today the start of a recycling program to reclaim a small portion of the estimated 13 billion natural cork wine stoppers sold into the world market each year. The six-month trial will involve 25 Northern California Whole Foods Market stores, including Reno. Each store will have a convenient collection box situated in the wine department. Customers will be encouraged to add wine corks to their list of recyclable packaging.

Unlike plastic or metal screwcap closures, recycled cork can be turned into flooring tile, building insulation, shoe soles, fishing rod handles, bulletin boards, and even soil conditioner. Natural cork is biodegradable, sustainable and a valuable source for carbon retention.”

The Whole Foods Markets in Northern California that are participating in the program are: Berkeley, Campbell, Cupertino, Fresno, Los Altos, Mill Valley, Monterey, Napa, Oakland, Palo Alto, Petaluma, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Mateo, San Rafael, San Ramon, Santa Rosa, Sebastopol, Sonoma and Walnut Creek.

ReCORK America is a recycling program sponsored by Amorim, and Portocork America. For more information about ReCORK America, visit their Web site at www.recorkamerica.com

If you don’t want to collect them and take them to Whole Foods, you can always put them in your green bin or a compost pile.

On another topic, Yma Sumac died over the weekend. If you don’t know who she is, then click here to listen to the NPR story on her yesterday. She really was a one-of-a-kind performer whose unique vocal style will surely be missed.

Here is a little video about her.



And don’t forget to vote today!