Recycling at the 2012 Wine Bloggers Conference

When we gather together next month in Portland, more than 350 of us will sip, blog, and share the latest and greatest in the world of wine. Throughout the weekend, corks will be “popped” and wines will be poured – leaving a huge number of used closures and empty bottles that might easily be tossed into the nearest trash can.

Luckily, you will have better options! Our host hotel, the DoubleTree Portland, is Oregon’s First Green Seal Certified hotel. We will have bottle recycling containers located near our conference area and ask that you help us make sure used bottles get in the proper containers.

However, we are doing even more. While glass is the biggest contributing factor to a bottle of wine’s carbon footprint, 1% of the impact can be attributed to the bottle closure. We will have cork recycling containers and have also created a partnership with Nomacorc to recycle non-cork closures.

Nomacorc, the world’s largest producer of synthetic wine closures, produces corks that are 100% recyclable. The closures carry a Recycle Identification Code (RIC) #4 and can be recycled along with other plastic materials through already established recycling streams in much of the world.

However, just because Nomacorc’s closures are fully recyclable doesn’t mean they are getting recycled. To help increase the recycling of closures, Nomacorc partners with supplemental recycling programs like TerraCycle and 1 Bouchon: 1 Sourire in France. At WBC12, we will have collection stations placed throughout the DoubleTree conference area for non-cork closures that will then be recycled or upcycled into various consumer products.

So as you open up your favorite Oregon Pinot Noir at an after-party this year, remember to save the closure! Put it in your purse or grab a small bag and drop them off at one of the many Nomacorc recycling stations at WBC. Remember, just because it can get recycled doesn’t mean it is being recycled – so let’s do our part and help our industry continue to be more sustainable.