Cork Balls

Most everyone knows cork for its use in wine stoppers and bulletin boards and more and more people recognize it as a floor covering however not as many people know what a cork ball is or what it is for. I'll take a moment to enlighten you ...

Cork balls come in a variety of sizes and are used for many applications ranging from magic props to buoyancy aids.

Ever wonder what's inside one of your sporting balls (ie. baseball, cricket or hurling ball)? Often, its center is made of cork.

What about the little ball in a whistle? Its often a tiny cork ball.

How about a foosball? These balls can be made of cork also.

Cork balls are also floats for level gauges and heads for craft dolls and outrigger cork stops.

Remember, cork floats! Another great use is as a keychain for boaters.

The list goes on and on. Whether for arts & craft use or fishing floats and lures, cork balls can be used.

For more uses, visit www.jelinek.com/balls.htm

Jelinek Cork flooring installed in LEED compliant Oakville Soccer Club building

The Oakville Soccer Club has opened a new indoor soccer facility. The Pine Glen Soccer Centre is the first LEED^®(Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Compliant public building in Oakville, Ontario.

Jelinek Cork Comfort Line cork floors are installed throughout the facility's offices. These floors have a natural vegetable oil finish which protects the floor while maintaining the natural look and feel of cork. The pattern used for this facility is Cai Sienna.

Jelinek Cork is present in other parts of the building as well - RubberCork flooring is installed in the community room and staff kitchen (see bottom picture).

Interesting Uses for Cork #3

As mentioned in previous posts, there are many uses for cork besides bulletin boards and wine stoppers. I have already mentioned a couple in previous posts. Today I'll introduce you to another.

Virgin cork bark is the bark that is harvested from the cork tree the first and second time the tree is harvested. This cork has a really rough texture and is not uniform at all. Some sections may be a lot thicker than other sections and its appearance is really natural. Subsequent harvests produce a much smoother and uniform layer of bark. These subsequent harvests produce the higher quality cork required for wine stoppers. So what happens to the bark gathered during the first two harvests? Among other things, virgin cork bark is used in horticulture and zoology for displays and for imitating natural habitats (terrariums, vivariums).

Here are some examples:
1.Orchids – Orchids love cork and cork bark is ideal for mounting orchids and other plants that require epiphytic conditions. They attach themselves to the cork bark and thrive.

2.Reptiles, amphibians and arachnids – Lizards, snakes, tarantulas and other such creatures love to climb on and in things. Cork bark is used to emulate their natural surroundings. The cork bark is completely natural and non-toxic so it is a popular choice when setting up a terrarium or other such habitat.

3.Since cork floats, the bark works great in the water. Frogs, turtles, newts and other partial swimmers need to take a break from the water. Cork bark offers an ideal place to rest.

In memory of Boomer.

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.

Calling all Recyclers! We want your Natural Corks!

In December 2008, Jelinek Cork launched its new recycled cork program:

Jelinek Cork Group is delighted to announce a new recycled cork program. Jay Jelinek said “Due to the large number of inquiries we received from the public we realized there is a huge demand to continue recycling natural cork.”

To try and make the process as simple as possible all we ask is for community groups, schools or other not for profit organizations to bring their sorted collected corks to our facility on Speers Road in Oakville, Ontario.

The corks need to be put in a brown paper garden refuse bag, which can be bought at all major grocery or hardware stores. We will pay $15 for each full bag of sorted natural corks. Simply call ahead to arrange your drop off.

Jay Jelinek continued with: “We are encouraged to hear so many people take seriously the desire to recycle one of nature’s most renewable products; by collecting and recycling we were able to divert over 8 tonnes of cork that was destined to end up in landfill.”

This program helps community groups raise both funds and awareness that natural cork is not only a completely sustainable product but totally recyclable and by using natural cork you're helping preserve one of the most biologically diverse habitats in the world.

Each year there are over 10 million wine corks discarded in Ontario alone. The holiday season is the perfect time of year to launch our new program.

For more information about this program please contact:

Fay Stallan
Jelinek Cork Group
905-827-4666

Jelinek Cork Group, 2260 Speers Road, Oakville, Ontario, L6L 2X8
Phone 905-827-4666
www.jelinek.com

World's Largest Cork Tree

The title of World's Largest Cork Tree is given to a tree that lives in the Alentejo region of Portugal. The tree, known as the Whistler tree for the birds that perch in it, was planted in 1783 and was harvested for its first time in 1820. Since then, its been harvested every nine years - that's 21 times! Its most recent harvest was in 2000 and its next harvest is scheduled for this year - 2009. Talk about productive!






Source: http://www.corkqc.com/corkecology/ecology2.htm

By using Cork you are helping our Planet

Cork - One of the most renewable and ecologically friendly materials found anywhere in the world

CORK
Cork is the bark of the cork oak tree (Quercus suber). After the cork bark is harvested from the tree, the bark immediately begins to renew itself. Not a single tree is cut down during harvest. Generally, after nine years of growth the bark is two inches thick. It is often at this point when the tree is re-harvested. Cork trees live 200-500 years.

MORE THAN RENEWABLE
Cork not only begins to renew its bark immediately after harvest but during the trees entire lifespan it is filtering carbon dioxide thereby reducing greenhouse gases. Furthermore, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) “cork oak forests support one of the highest levels of biodiversity among forest habitats, as well as the highest diversity of plants found anywhere in the world”.

NOT GOING EXTINCT
Despite rumours, cork is not going extinct. However, some winemakers are causing the cork habitat to be threatened by converting from real wine corks to synthetic and screw caps. Because of the decrease in use of real wine cork, the value of cork as a raw material has gone down. This may cause cork forest owners to sell their land, which in turn may be converted to alternative use (such as real estate development).

BY USING CORK YOU ARE HELPING OUR PLANET
The more cork that is used, the more value the farmers who own the forests get out of their land, making it less likely they will sell their land for development. By using cork you are helping to preserve the forest habitat and thereby reducing greenhouse gases and contributing to biodiversity among plant and animal life. There are many other benefits, including poverty alleviation (many cork forests are in rural North Africa and are critical to their local economy) and employment.

The construction industry has been quick to embrace cork as an acoustic underlayment in multilevel units and for flooring. The interior design industry is also on the cutting edge with unique uses of cork. Both industries also recognize that cork contributes favorably to the LEED rating system. Please encourage your favorite winemaker to support the natural solution and think how you can integrate cork into your home or office.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Please visit our website or this link to the World Wildlife Fund:
http://www.jelinek.com/wwf