Substitute For A Wine Cork
- Use A Carrot As A Cork: Women.com.
- Try A Lip Balm Cork: Women.com.
- Use A Ziplock Bag & A Rubber Band As A Cork: Women.com.
- Buy Reusable Corks Online: Women.com.
- Try Replacing The Bottle Not The Cork! Women.com.
Cork agglomerate is used in the ceilings, roofs, and walls as insulation. Cork granules are used in the production of wall tiles. It is also used in concrete structures for expansion and compression joints. That means cork can be used in the construction of tunnels, dams, and other concrete structures.
But there's another issue for micro-agglomerated corks: the glue used to bind the cork granules. Typically employing a type of plastic, it is not easily recycled, nor will it biodegrade. Plastic stoppers can be recycled, but the amount of plastic collected and recycled is small (less than 20% in the UK).
Synthetic corks and screwcaps can go straight into the recycling bin. For natural cork, you'll need to recycle them elsewhere. Or you can do what I do and put your natural corks in your compost bin. There are companies that collect natural wine corks and then turn them into anything from shoes and bags to flooring.
Corks seal the wine in the bottle which severely retards the oxidation process, allowing the wine to age and evolve slowly over time. This takes place because corks, or better put, quality corks allow a minimal amount of oxygen into the wine. Cork oak trees are grown primarily in Portugal.
Natural cork is also 100% renewable, recyclable and biodegradable. Cork production is eco-friendly and sustainable. Punched from renewable, responsibly harvested bark of the cork oak (Quercus suber), no trees are cut down.
Cork is naturally water resistant – it's why there is a wine-cork industry. Think about it: natural cork kept sea water from ruining the champagne that was salvaged from the Titanic. Cork floating floors can and should be sealed upon installation to seal the seams against surface spills.
Cork is one such material: natural, renewable and recyclable, it is biodegradable and 100% environmentally friendly.
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As a building material, cork is in high demand now. It is used for flooring, rigid insulation, exterior finish, floor underlayment, acoustic wall coverings and countertops. It has air pockets that make it resilient for floors. Cork is naturally anti-microbial, making it a good choice for bathrooms and kitchens.
In its natural form, cork is also a very good fire retardant, although cork dust is extremely flammable (because here the cell structure has been broken down). These properties make Cork an ideal choice for industrial and aerospace applications requiring light weight insulation material.
