Don’t be surprised if that wine closure you just threw into the recycling bin is one day transformed into a retail item available at Walmart. Nomacorc, a producer of alternative wine closures, is joining forces with TerraCycle (www.terracycle.net), an eco-friendly company that collects pre- and postconsumer material and “upcycles” it into home, office, and school products that it sells to major North American retailers. Through this joint program, Nomacorc closures collected nationwide by TerraCycle will be upcycled into consumer products. TerraCycle;s program will collect the post-use closures from wineries, restaurants, and consumers.

The products TerraCycle develops from the reprocessed closures are recyclable into products available at retailers including Wal-Mart, The Home Depot, and Whole Foods. With early success of its wine closure recycling initiative, large independent beverage retail chains have expressed interest in joining TerraCycle’s program. Nomacorc already recycles all of the excess production materials created at its manufacturing facilities in the U.S. and Europe.

“Finding a new purpose for used Nomacorc closures through TerraCycle’s established and well-respected national recycling program will help further our existing efforts to reduce Nomacorc’s environmental impact and carbon footprint,” says Malcolm Thompson, vp of marketing and innovation.

To gather recyclable products, TerraCycle engages with nonprofit community organizations, including schools, churches and youth groups, which allows it to manage a robust, nationwide collection and recycling program. TerraCycle works with an independent non-profit, Zerofootprint, to offset all carbon emissions related to these programs.

Nomacorc will join other TerraCycle sponsors including Kraft, Frito Lay and Stonyfield Farm whose support of the TerraCycle program provides a revenue source for organizations in communities across the country. Nationwide collection of Nomacorc’s synthetic wine closures is scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2009.

Nomacorc says its products are 100-percent-recyclable with LDPE food packaging.

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