If you popped a lot of bottles over the holidays, you may want to think twice before throwing the corks directly into the garbage or recycling.

The City of Pointe-Claire, in Montreal’s West Island, has started a program to collect corks and repurpose them in an environmentally-friendly way.

“The corks are collected by a North American company that is also carbon-neutral, meaning its actions are environmentally responsible in order to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions,” the city states.

“The collected corks are then ground and used to create new products, such as shoe soles, insulating material and sports accessories like yoga blocks.”

Cork, which is made from the bark of cork oak, is currently in high demand due to its resistance to humidity and mildew.

These types of trees are found in countries like Portugal, Spain, Algeria, Morocco, Italy, Tunisia and France.

“The cork harvesting process poses no risk to the trees,” the city adds.

“In fact, the bark grows back, giving the trees a life expectancy of over 300 years.”

You can drop off your corks at collection boxes at Pointe-Claire City Hall, the Central Library, the Aquatic Centre and the Bob-Birnie Arena.

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