Thursday, February 19, 2009

Cork closures and CO2 emissions

A PricewaterhouseCoopers LCA study commissioned by Amorim shows the carbon dioxide emissions associated with cork closures are significantly lower than the emissions due to aluminum screwcaps and plastic stoppers.

The year-long study found that CO2 emissions — a key factor in global warming — resulting from the life cycle of a screwcap are 24 times higher than those from a natural cork stopper, while a plastic stopper is responsible for 10 times more CO2 than a natural cork.

Along with this study, it is also known that cork forests store carbon thereby reducing green house gases in the atmosphere. Cork trees store carbon to regenerate their bark therefore a harvested tree absorbs more (up to 5 times more) carbon than one that isn't harvested.

Use natural cork and help the planet.

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