The celler de Can Roca and the Catalan Institute of Cork Foundation have started a collaboration for recycle the corks from the bottles that are opened in the restaurant and give them a second life through their recycling in circular economy projects, because given its characteristics, cork retains a large part of its properties once its capping function ends.

This agreement for sustainability has been materialized by the sommelier of Celler de Can Roca, Dani Martínez, and the director of the Institut Català del Suro, Albert Hereu, as part of the first delivery of corks to the ICSuro, the collection of which will be done on a regular basis.

El Celler de Can Roca is the first restaurant to join periodically in this cork recycling initiative promoted by the Institut Català del Suro which has recently had the complicity of prominent events in the sector such as Barcelona Gastronomic Forum or the Barcelona Wine Week. The Celler de Can Roca, meanwhile, has had its own recycling and reuse program for waste such as plastics and glass since 2013: Roca Recicla.

The recycling of corks

The Institut Català del Suro's commitment to the recycling of corks seeks to extend the life of the cork and enhance the value of the product beyond its recycling in the organic container. In addition, the recycling of corks makes it possible to extend the function of the material as a carbon reservoir.

The Institut Català del Suro Foundation works in contact with other recycling and waste management entities such as Ecoembes, ecovidrio or theWaste Agency of Catalonia to find ways to reuse these caps in an environmentally, socially and economically viable way.

The Alcorke project

the aim ofAlcorque is to give a second life to used corks by means of their collection, crushing and mixing with adhesives to use them on tree trunks and playground pavements.

It is a circular economy project that has the support of the Waste Agency of Catalonia in which the ICSuro Foundation has poured many expectations, as it would allow absorbing a large amount of caps that are currently destined for composting and give them a new role in municipal urban planning. In addition, it has great potential in terms of environmental education and the promotion of recycling.