Pilot Project for Cork Recycling in West Kelowna
“Cork is a great material. It’s natural and it’s actually a carbon-negative material. It can be repurposed, in this case into new consumer items like footwear, where it can replace petroleum-based foams and plastic.” ~ Allen Langdon, Return-It CEO and president
Not much can beat opening up a bottle of wine on a hot Okanagan summer’s day, and Return-It has found a unique way to save wine corks that are destined to go to the landfill each year. Now, indulging in the fruits of the valley is that much sweeter because of a pilot program resulting from a partnership between Return-It and SOLE, a company that makes eco-friendly cork footwear.
“This really hasn’t been done before, where you try to collect cork from the public on such a large scale,” said Allen Langdon, Return-It CEO and president. “We are going into it not knowing what to expect but I think at the end of the day, the ultimate objective is keeping this material out of the landfill.”
The pilot program will run until December 2021. If successful, it will be expanded across B.C.
