Corks (Natural) Alternative ways to recycle Special Instructions Corks are too small for curbside recycling, so they need to be recycled through cork-specific programs. The following local stores have dropboxes for cork recycling: Sones Cellars334-B Ingalls Street | Santa Cruz, CA 95060 Whole Foods1710 41st Avenue | Capitola, CA 95010 BevMo! 1181820 41st Avenue, Suite A | Capitola, CA 95010 Plastic corks are too small to be recycled, so they go in the trash. Find more recycling locations under Alternative Ways to Recycle below. Composting Natural Corks You can compost natural corks, but they will take a long time to break down unless you break them up into small pieces first, or even better, run them through a blender. Alternative Ways to Recycle CFCA Dropboxes The Cork Forest Conservation Alliance collects and recycles natural corks in dropboxes in many Whole Foods stores, as well as other retailers. Find a dropbox here. ReCORK Recycling Program ReCORK collects natural corks so they can be reused in packaging and products such as cork shoes. If you have 15 lbs of cork or more, mail them in with a free shipping label. Or find a nearby dropbox. CorkClub Recycling CorkClub is a sustainability initiative funded by WidgetCo, a leader in wine cork recycling and upcycling. Mail in both natural and synthetic wine corks in shipments of 5 lbs (or 500 wine corks, or 800 cubic inches). For each natural wine cork received, WidgetCo donates to forest and ocean conservation non-profits, and synthetic wine corks are recycled. Ways to Reuse Hydrate Your Plants Break up a wine cork and add the pieces to the soil of your potted plants to reduce the rate of water evaporation during hot summer days.