Screwcaps and synthetic bottle stoppers are environmentally wasteful

The Portuguese cork producer Amorim has published a report showing a comparison of the environmental impacts and energy used to produce aluminium, plastic and cork materials and the carbon emissions involved.
Cork oak forests and the natural cork products derived from them are a major carbon sink and have an important role in sustainable development. The crucial role of cork in carbon dioxide retention, preserving biodiversity and combating desertification was highlighted in the report on sustainability, published recently by the company.
In comparison, the mining and extraction of non-renewable resources such as petrochemicals and bauxite (used to produce aluminium) have very significant potentially negative impacts on ecosystems. Indeed, the report says, the primary production of a ton of aluminium emits on average 12 tons of CO² and the industrial process of transforming aluminium into a final product (e.g. screwcap) gives rise to further CO² emissions.
Further high energy consumption is also required if the plastics and aluminium end products are eventually recycled.
Cork on the other hand is a renewable and non-polluting resource produced every 9 years without damaging the cork tree. It is 100% recyclable and requires very low energy consumption since a significant part of the energy needs for production is satisfied using biomass. For further information see the Corticeira Amorim Sustainability Report on www.corkfacts.com

Cork for elephants

Cork is too useful a material to be used only once and discarded, and many wine corks are now collected for recycling into a range of other cork products. Recycling corks is a major fund-raising and environmental activity around the world. In Australia, the proceeds of a cork-recycling campaign by school students have contributed to the building of a new elephant enclosure at Melbourne Zoo.
Further information: http://www.corkfacts.com/frontmenu.htm

The environmental importance of the cork forests in Southern Spain, Portugal and many other Mediterranean countries is well recognised by the European Union. Without cork trees many areas in those countries could become desert similar to North Africa. For this reason, the E.U. is actively encouraging with monetary grants the planting of new cork trees because they are a renewable resource; they prevent soil erosion; they support other types of vegetation; and they provide a habitat for raising animals like sheep, pigs and goats.

"The Guardian", "The Ecologist" and The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds support Cork against plastic.