News Media Center

QUERCUS, MISSÃO CONTINENTE AND CORTICEIRA AMORIM UNITE IN THE NAME OF RECYCLING AND REFORESTING PORTUGAL

• The campaign ROLHAS QUE DÃO FOLHAS is aimed at raising awareness of the importance of recycling cork and conserving Portugal’s forests through the planting of native trees;
• To encourage Portuguese families to recycle cork stoppers, the retail chain Continente will distribute 500,000 household collection containers for corks;
• The campaign is part of the Green Cork project, a partnership that has already resulted in the recycling of about 84 million cork stoppers and the planting of 828,000 trees since 2008.

Aimed at encouraging the recycling of cork stoppers and contributing to the reforestation of Portugal, Missão Continente, in partnership with Quercus, Portugal’s leading nature and environmental conservation association, and Corticeira Amorim, will distribute a total of 500,000 “cork boxes” to the customers of Continente stores. The “cork boxes” are small containers that people can take home and use to collect their used cork stoppers for recycling. When full, they can be emptied at special deposits that have already been installed at the customer service counters of Continente stores.

The awareness campaign is part of Green Cork, a project created in 2008 by Quercus, in partnership with Missão Continente and Corticeira Amorim, which has already led to the recycling of about 84 million stoppers. Green Cork project is aimed at reminding Portuguese citizens of the importance of recycling cork and to raise public awareness of the environmental advantages of cork products, while supporting an ecosystem with unique characteristics.

Cork oak plantations help protect biodiversity and contribute to the survival of many animal species native to Portugal, some of which are in danger of extinction. The plantations are equally important as a means of fixing CO2, regulating the hydrologic cycle, retaining water and preventing the desertification and depopulation of rural areas. As well as making cork available for use in new products, recycling also extends the life cycle of cork and increases its environmental benefits, especially its capacity for storing CO2.

The Green Cork project also helps to meet other challenges, including the planting of tree species native to Portugal (which include the cork oak). Quercus uses the income generated from the cork stoppers collected for recycling to finance an initiative called “Floresta Comum”, which has already resulted in the planting of more than 828,000 trees. The aim of the “Floresta Comum” initiative is to promote the production, procurement and distribution of native trees to projects with the necessary motivation, skills and means to plant and care for the forests they plan to plant.