Booze News

Here are a couple more tidbits I've gleaned from Waste News. For brevity, I have included only the interesting parts.

Bacardi Corp. to pay fine for Clean Water Act violations
Nov. 4 -- One of the world´s largest rum producers has agreed to pay a $550,000 penalty to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to resolve allegations the company violated the Clean Water Act at its manufacturing facility in Cataño, Puerto Rico.

The agency claimed that from March 2002 to July 2008, Bacardi failed to comply with certain pollutant limits in its permit and, in some instances, failed to report monitoring results for discharges into the Atlantic Ocean. The EPA cited Bacardi for failure to meet pollutant limits for cadmium, lead, copper, oil and grease, selenium, zinc and two types of organic compounds.

Do you mean to tell me all these substances were filtered out during the rum-making process?

ReCORK America launches used wine corks program
Nov. 4 -- ReCORK America, a cork recycling program, is launching a trial program to capture used wine corks in Northern California.

The effort, involving 25 Whole Foods Markets, will feature a collection box in wine departments that will encourage customers to return their used corks. The program will include the Whole Foods Market in Reno, Nev.

Recycled corker can be turned into floor tile, building insulation, shoe soles, fishing rod handles and bulletin boards, according to ReCORK America. The material also can be used as a soil conditioner.

Yeah, let's collect all our wine corks but keep shipping toxic e-waste to unregulated "recycling" centers in China.