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THE CORK COLLECTIVE CO
NEW YORK, NY · EIN 991899160 · Form 990 · FY2024 · NTEE C27 · Environment · Small ($100K-$1M) · corkcollective.org
revenue
$400K
expenses
$319K
net assets
$81K
employees
0
program ratio
41%
mission · from form 990

TO PROMOTE THE ADVANCEMENT OF EDUCATION WITHIN THE PUBLIC, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO MEMBERS OF THE HOSPITALITY AND DESIGN INDUSTRIES, REGARDING THE RECYCLING AND REPURPOSING OF CORK AND CORK PRODUCTS AND THE PROMOTION OF SUSTAINABILITY AND MINIMIZATION OF WASTE THROUGH THE INTRODUCTION OF "CLOSED-LOOP" SYSTEMS WHERE CORK AND CORK RESOURCES ARE REUSED, RECYCLED, AND REGENERATED.

profile · synthesized from sources

The Cork Collective Co is a nonprofit organization based in New York that promotes sustainability by collecting and recycling used wine corks. It transforms the material into safe, resilient surfacing for playgrounds and public spaces while educating the hospitality and design industries about circular systems. The organization partners with restaurants, hotels, and wineries to divert cork waste from landfills and demonstrate regenerative design practices.

named programs · 4 · from sources

What they call their work

Casa Cork
Traveling immersive installation and living laboratory showcasing circular design through cork, beginning at Milan Design Week and featuring educational programming
Cork Collection Program
Partners with restaurants, hotels, and event spaces to collect used wine corks using branded bins and scheduled electric-vehicle pickups for recycling
Playground Surfacings Initiative
Transforms recycled cork into safe, sustainable foundation materials for playgrounds in partnership with Corkeen
Student Design Competition
Invites students from institutions like Parsons School of Design and Politecnico di Milano to develop innovative applications for recycled cork materials
activities · 1 group

What they do

  • Community Recycling & Reuse Education 4 activities
    • Cork collection and recycling program
      Operates a nationwide cork collection program that partners with restaurants, hotels, and event spaces to gather used wine corks using branded bins and scheduled electric vehicle pickups, transporting them to a recycling partner in Wisconsin for processing.
    • Education and promotion of circular design
      Advances sustainability through closed-loop systems by promoting education on cork recycling and repurposing, including public showcases like Casa Cork and student design competitions that engage institutions such as Parsons School of Design and Politecnico di Milano.
    • Installation of sustainable surfacing in public spaces
      Transforms recycled cork into safe, durable surfacing materials used in community projects such as playgrounds and public spaces, funded through donations.
    • Production of recycled cork materials
      Processes collected corks by cleaning, grinding, and forming them into reusable materials such as blocks and cylinders, which are used to create sustainable surfacing or returned as wine stoppers.
financials · form 990 · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$400K
Contributions & grants$400K100%
Program service revenue$00%
Investment income$00%
Other revenue$0
expenses
Total expenses$319K
Program expenses41%
Admin / overhead34%
Fundraising25%
Salaries & benefits$0
Grants paid out$0
Largest expense lineProfessional Fees
balance sheet
Total assets$81K
Cash$66K
Investments$0
Liabilities$0
Net assets$81K
Liquid reserves2.5 mo
1 years on record · 2024–2024
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024

Who runs it

board members · 2
  • NATHAN TAM — TREASURER & SECRETARY
  • WILLIAM B WACHTEL — PRESIDENT
relationships · 7

Who they work with

  • Corkeen Partner — Partnership to replace harmful playground surfaces with cork through sustainable design.
  • Industry leaders Partner — Collaborates with industry leaders to collect and repurpose discarded wine corks.
  • Parsons School of Design Partner — Collaborates with students from Parsons School of Design in the Cork Collective Student Design Competition.
  • Politecnico di Milano Partner — Collaborates with students from Politecnico di Milano in the Cork Collective Student Design Competition.
  • Recycling Partner in Wisconsin Partner — Processes collected corks for reuse.
  • The Vitamin Pack Partner — Website design partner for Cork Collective.
  • WeMake Partner — Collaborates with Cork Collective on initiatives related to cork collection and repurposing.
strategies · 5

How they approach the work

Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.

  • Circular Material Reuse for Community and Environmental Benefit
    methodology: circular_material_reuse
    By collecting and repurposing used cork stoppers into new, functional materials like playground surfacing, we reduce waste and create community resources, because closing the loop on material use generates both environmental gains and tangible social value.
  • Education for Circular Design and Behavior Change
    methodology: circular-design-education
    By educating communities and industry professionals about closed-loop systems and circular design, we drive sustainable consumption and systemic change, because awareness of material potential shifts behavior and design practices toward reuse.
  • Hospitality Sector as a Catalyst for Circular Engagement
    methodology: hospitality-sector-engagement
    By engaging restaurants and hospitality venues as collection partners, we activate a distributed network for cork recovery, because involving high-volume users creates a scalable supply chain for circular reuse.
  • Leveraging Cork’s Natural Properties for Climate and Safety Benefits
    methodology: carbon-sequestration-through-recycling
    By recycling cork, we prevent stored carbon from being released into the atmosphere and utilize its shock-absorbing qualities in public spaces, because cork’s inherent properties offer dual environmental and safety advantages when kept in use.
  • Low-Barrier Systems to Scale Participation in Recycling
    methodology: low-barrier-recycling-systems
    By designing cork recycling systems to be accessible and easy to join, we increase participation across sectors, because reducing friction in recycling infrastructure enables broader environmental impact.