American Airlines Recycling Wine Corks

At its numerous Admirals Club locations, American Airlines will begin recycling wine corks to prevent them from ending up in landfills.

In conjunction with ReCork America and Sodexo, American Airlines will collect corks from 24 locations in the U.S. and San Juan, Puerto Rico, according to a press release.

ReCork says that 13 billion natural cork wine closures are sold each year, the vast majority ending up in landfills.

The cork recycling program will divert the corks to manufacture of footwear and flooring.

Some wineries are taking steps to ensure that their cork is harvested sustainably. For instance, Willamette Valley Vineyards uses cork stoppers harvested from responsibly managed forestlands certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.