How to Reuse Old Wine Corks

If you drink a lot of wine, you may find yourself accumulating wine corks over time. There are many ways to reuse wine corks. Wine corks can be used for many crafts, like wreaths and coasters. You can also use wine corks as household tools, like new knobs for drawers and cabinets. Wine corks can be used around the house as mulch for plants or to clean knives.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Crafting with Corks

1
Make a wine cork wreath. If you have a lot of old wine corks lying around, pick up a styrofoam wreath and a hot glue gun at a local craft store. Glue the corks upright around the wreath, covering all white areas. Then, allow the wreath to dry. Glue a ribbon in a loop to the wreath so you can hang it in your home.^{[1]XResearch source}
- If you want, you can use paint to paint the wine corks a color to match your home.
- This project tends to work best with a lot of wine corks. If you like the idea of a wine cork wreath, start saving wine corks over time.
2
Make place card holders. With a utility knife, cut a small sliver of the wine cork on the long side to create a flat, smooth surface. This allows the wine cork to lie flat on a table without moving around. On the opposite side, cut a slit all the way across the cork. Then, insert your place card in the slit.^{[2]XResearch source}
- For an added touch, paint the cork in a specific color. As this is a great project for a wedding, using your wedding colors can be a nice touch.
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A trivet is like a large coaster that you can use as a decorative item to set things like glasses on. Find an old picture frame, or buy an inexpensive one at a department store, and take out the glass. Arrange your corks in any design you desire inside the frame. Once you’re happy with your design, glue the corks in place to the backing board of the frame. Allow the glue to fully dry. When it's done, you can set things like coffee cups or vases on the trivet and display it in your home.^{[3]XResearch source}
4
Make glass charms. Glass charms are a cute, simple decoration you can use to personalize glasses for occasions like parties, weddings, and other events. Cut your corks into half inch slices using a sharp knife. Use lettered stamps to stamp a letter onto each cork. You can use the first letter or initials of friends and family members for glass charms. Then, hold your corks flat on a table. Screw a tiny screw with a loop on the end into the corks sideways. Tie a ribbon around the loop in the screw to attach the glass charm around the stem of a wine glass. Now, you have personalized glasses for events.^{[4]XResearch source}
- If you want to use people's initials, use smaller stamps so you can fit all the letters on the wine glasses.
5
Create fridge magnets. Wine corks can be used to create fridge magnets that can hold small items, like pens, so they're on hand in the kitchen when you need them. Simply take a small, thin pocket knife. Hollow out the inside of a wine cork. Then, attach a small magnet to the back of the cork using glue. Place your wine cork on the fridge.^{[5]XResearch source}
- You can place useful items, like pens, in the holder or decorative items like small flowers.
Making a keychain out of wine cork is one of the simplest crafts to do. Simply take a screw with a loop on the end. Screw it into the top of a wine cork. Then, place the ring of your keys around the loop.^{[6]XResearch source}
7
Use wine corks to make coasters. Coasters take around 19 corks each to make, so this project is great if you have a lot of wine corks saved up. Arrange your corks in a circular shape on a flat surface. Then, attach the corks to one another using a hot glue gun. ^{[7]XResearch source}/
- For added decoration, loop a ribbon around the coaster and attach it in place with a hot glue gun. This can add a splash of color. If you don't have or don't want to use glue, you can also hold the corks together with an elastic band. This way the corks will move around and get rearranged when the door slams and this will soften the blow leaving your wall paint intact.
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Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Making Household Tools with Wine Corks

If you grow herbs in your backyard or on your balcony, they can sometimes be difficult to tell apart. Many herbs look similar, especially in the early stages. To fix this issue, simply stick a a thin wooden poll in the end of a wine cork. Use a marker or pen to write the name of the herb on the side of the cork. Stick it in the soil near the herb to remind yourself which herbs are which.
2
Make planters. Using a sharp knife, hollow out the center of a wine cork. Stop about three quarters down the length of the cork. Add potting soil to the hole you’ve created and insert a small plant. Succulents work well and will likely last the longest since they’re relatively easy to maintain. Small planters are a cute decoration for tiny plants in your home.^{[8]XResearch source}
- If you want, you can glue a magnet to the back and stick your cute planter on your refrigerator to add some fresh greenery to your kitchen.
3
Replace old knobs with wine corks. If you have dressers or drawers with older, beat up knobs, you can replace the knobs with wine corks. First, remove the old knobs by opening the drawers. Unscrew the screws attaching the knobs to the drawers. Pick up matching screws at a local hardware or craft store. Insert new screws into the holes in each draw. Then, screw your wine corks onto the screws pointing out of the front of the drawers. You'll be left with a somewhat quirky set of knobs for your cabinets or drawers.^{[9]XResearch source}
- This also works well with champagne corks.
If you have a lot of high heels, wine corks can make great heel stops. To start, cut the cork in half. From there, use a power drill and a drill bit as big as the heels on your shoes to drill a hole into each half of the cork. Leave a small space at the bottom of the cork. Then, fit each heel into the hole, wiggling the heels as necessary to widen the holes to accommodate your heels.
If you have cheese knives with unwieldy handles, replace the handles with wine corks. Use a mallet of carefully crack off the existing handle, leaving a small and thin bit of the handle in place. From there, make a slit at the end of the wine cork. Fit the cork into the bit of the handle still sticking out of the cheese knife.
Wine corks are perfect to use for cat toys since they are light enough for your cat to bat around. Use small scissors to create a hole on the circular, flat end of a wine cork about 1 inch deep. Squirt a small amount of glue into the hole and insert a feather or pipe cleaner into the hole. Allow the glue to dry before giving this fun new toy to your cat.^{[10]XResearch source}
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Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Using Corks Around The House

Wine corks can actually be used as mulch for gardens. Chop the corks into small pieces and then use a blender to grind those pieces even further before adding them to your mulch. The corks will retain moisture longer than traditional mulch and help maintain your plant’s health between waterings.
2
Use as a fire starter. Fill a mason jar with wine corks. Pour in rubbing alcohol until the corks are fully submerged, and seal the jar tightly. When you need to start a fire, remove a cork or two and place them under the wood to be kindled before lighting the fire.^{[11]XResearch source}
- Make sure not to use plastic wine corks for this method.
- Be cautious when lighting a fire. Never leave a fire unattended.
3
Clean your knives. Use a wine cork to buff an abrasive cleaner, or a mixture of salt and vinegar, onto your dirty knife. When you're done, rinse the knife and dry it well with a paper towel or a clean cloth.^{[12]XResearch source}
- Be cautious when cleaning your knives. Go slowly to avoid injury.
If you need to sand something as part of a project, use a wine cork to hold sandpaper in place. Simply wrap your sand paper around the wine cork. The curved surface of the cork works great for minor touch ups.^{[13]XResearch source}
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Should I recycle corks?
Kathryn Kellogg
Sustainability Specialist
Kathryn Kellogg is the founder of goingzerowaste.com, a lifestyle website dedicated to breaking eco-friendly living down into a simple step-by-step process with lots of positivity and love. She's the author of 101 Ways to Go Zero Waste and spokesperson for plastic-free living for National Geographic.
Kathryn Kellogg
Sustainability Specialist
Expert Answer
Yes! Cork is actually an endangered tree, so it's important to reuse or recycle your corks whenever you can. You can use corks for all kinds of crafts. For example, you might string the corks with red beads to make a Christmas garland, or cut them in half and put them in a picture frame to make a cork board. If you don't want to use them for a craft project, some restaurants and grocery stores have drop-offs for recycling corks.
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I would like to make a wine cork Lazy Susan. How do I go about doing this?
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You could purchase a cheap Lazy Susan from a store such as Ikea or Amazon, and use the process explained in Make a Bathmat from Corks to form to the Lazy Susan instead of a bathmat shape.
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I have hundreds of used corks. Can I store them in an outside shed? It can get very cold in winter and hot in summer.
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The corks should be fine, cork is a resilient material that bounces back from pressure and temperature changes. It would be a good idea to keep it in a container that rats, mice and other rodents cannot get to though, in case they'd like to nibble on the corks.
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Tips

Keep a decorative jar in your kitchen to keep your old wine corks. Having it out in plain sight will help you remember to keep the corks.
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If you don’t drink a lot of wine, corks can be bought online or at craft stores.
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