Seongdong-gu, Wine Cork Recycling

Seongdong-gu Signs Business Agreement with Related Companies on the 9th to Establish the Nation’s First Public-Private Partnership System for Cork Stopper Recycling

Establishing a Cork Stopper Collection System and Creating a Recycled Cork Pedestrian Path through Participation of Local Businesses

Seongdong-gu (Mayor Jung Won-oh) announced that it will establish the nation’s first public-private partnership system for cork stopper recycling to realize a carbon-neutral city.

On the 9th, Seongdong-gu signed a business agreement on the cork stopper recycling project with SBuild, a company possessing cork recycling technology and selected as one of the ‘1000 National Representative Innovative Companies’ in 2021, CCC representing local wine retailers, and High Holborn.

Cork stoppers, mainly used to seal wine bottles, are made from cork oak, an eco-friendly material. Compared to other artificial materials, the amount of carbon dioxide generated during production and decomposition is significantly lower, and cork itself has the advantage of absorbing and storing carbon dioxide.

With the expansion of the ‘home drinking’ trend replacing company dinners due to COVID-19, wine consumption has increased, but cork stoppers are often discarded as waste after use.

Seongdong-gu, which has been actively implementing coffee grounds recycling since 2020, is now promoting a cork recycling project inspired by discarded cork stoppers. Through this agreement, a collection system for cork stoppers generated at local wine retail businesses will be established, and a pedestrian path recycled with cork stoppers will be created near the district office, establishing a new concept resource circulation model.

Since March, the district has been recruiting companies to participate in the cork stopper recycling project, and so far, a total of 44 businesses have expressed their intention to participate. Businesses wishing to join can contact the District Office’s Cleaning Administration Division.

Jung Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, stated, “Establishing a public-private partnership system for cork stopper recycling will be a meaningful step for the descendants who will inherit the Earth in the future,” and added, “Seongdong-gu will implement various policies to become a standard model for sustainable cities.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.