RECYCLE, REPURPOSE, REUSE

but sometimes the question is how?  

In this case I'm thinking about wine bottle corks.  I never can resist reading and sometimes saving garden hints from garden publications.  Such was the case with reusing wine  corks.

The questions that came to mind were; what are the synthetic corks made from  and would they, or even the natural corks, be harmful to the soil.  I never trust any of the hints until the "research based" segment of my brain kicks in.  I check sources on the "magic machine" understanding that some sources are unreliable.

The hints I questioned were; to use the corks, contained in a mesh bag, as a filler in the bottom of a very large planter and also used as a top mulch on a shallow dish garden filled with thyme and succulents.  The third idea was to write the plant name on the cork with a permanent marker, then pierce the cork with a knitting needle and place in the soil next to your plant.  It makes a weatherproof, and economical marker.

Nearly 90% of high quality corks come mainly from Portugal, the cork-oak tree (Quercus suber).  In the past it was forbidden to strip trees that were less than 40 years old.  As the demand for wine corks increased internationally, the trees were stripped every 4 or 5 years which affected the health of  the tree and quality of the cork.  As a result of the unreliable quality, 1 out of 10 bottles of wine were found to be infected by a fungus caused by the natural cork. I learned natural corks are hydroponic, preventing water from exiting the plant.  My question then was, if used in the bottom of a container would they retain too much moisture thus promoting a soil disease?

In 1950 Bertrand Russell said, "Mankind has a remarkable ability to destroy the natural gifts of the planet".

Enter the picture--synthetic, man-made corks.  The advantage of using  man-made corks is the fact they are made from inert materials.  Typically they are made from polyethylene, considered food safe, and the same materials as milk bottles and plastic pipe are made from. 

How to tell the difference?  Natural cork looks and feels like cork, think of a corkboard used in school.  It is sturdy but will crumble with enough pressure.  Real cork tends to feature lots of color variation.  Another clue is the price of the bottle of wine with the high-end wines capped with natural corks, also, usually the red wines.

Synthetic  cork is smooth, feels like soft plastic and is more uniform in color.  When cut open most synthetic corks have a foam-like consistency.

I have satisfied my curiosity.  I have decided that I will just carry on with my original plan of saving corks to glue together to make a trivet for hot steaming casseroles.