How Cork Is Harvested

By Author: Chris Work
Total Articles: 19
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Cork is used in everyday products like gaskets, wine stoppers, bulletin boards, rubber compounds and flooring. It has become a popular choice because it is a sustainable and renewable resource. The cork that is used in manufacturing actually comes from the outer bark of an oak tree. Oak cork trees are cultivated in a very carefully and highly monitored fashion. The outer bark of the tree's trunk is very meticulously stripped by hand. Regulations do not allow for any mechanical devices when it comes to stripping the trees. Experienced strippers use an axe that has been specially designed to split the outer bark of the tree and peel it away.

The cork tree lives for about 150 years and will regenerate the outer layer of bark a dozen or more times. The tree does not undergo its first bark stripping until it is somewhere between 15 and 20 years old. After that it is re-stripped every nine or 10 years. Once the bark has been removed, it is left in the open air for a period of about six months. Weathering the cork in this way helps to greatly improve its quality. Once this airing out process has finished, the bark will be sorted ...
... according to size and quality.

Manufacturers use cork to produce about 13 billion bottle stoppers every year. This is usually where the first of the cork harvest goes. What is left afterwards is known as "blocker waste." This waste is actually perfectly good material and will be ground up and processed so that it can be used in a multitude of different products. The majority of the cork oak trees in the world are concentrated in the Iberian Peninsula of Europe and the Mediterranean basin. These forests account for over two thirds of the cork that is processed every year.

There are almost 5 1/2 million acres of land occupied by these cork oak forests. The remaining one third of cork production comes from North Africa. This industry employs over 15,000 workers who convert the raw cork and byproducts into one's ready for commercial use. There are also thousands of seasonal workers who maintain the forests and help with the harvest. The cork industry is closely monitored and highly regulated to protect this important natural resource. By responsibly harvesting the cork, everyone can rest assured that this amazing product will be around for future generations.
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