FOR 51
The item is cork, bark from the cork oak. FOR 51 is cork; FOR 50 is wood.
- Material
- Cork
- Code
- FOR 51
- Family
- Wood and cork
- Defined by
- Commission Decision 97/129/EC
Which bin, usually
Usually not the household recycling bin. Natural cork stoppers are collected separately in some places, by some shops, wine merchants and charities; otherwise they usually go in general waste.
Whether this goes in your recycling depends on your local collection; check your council or municipality's sorting guide.
The material
Cork.
Where you see it
Wine stoppers and the cork parts of bar-top stoppers on spirits, and cork liners and mats.
What it does not mean
Plastic 'corks' and screw caps are not FOR 51; a stopper made of plastic takes a plastic code.
FOR marks wood or cork as the material. It is not a forestry or sustainability certificate, and it does not say whether the wood is treated, painted or glued.
Other ways it is printed
- FOR under a 51 in a triangle of arrows
- FOR 51, FOR51 or 51 FOR in plain text
Other wood and cork codes
Sources
- Commission Decision 97/129/EC of 28 January 1997 establishing the identification system for packaging materials (OJ L 50, 20.2.1997), as adopted — UK National Archives copy (Annex IV: Cork, FOR, 51) — checked 2026-09-23
Written in our own words from these public texts and checked on the date shown. ASTM D7611 and ISO 14021 are sold by their publishers; only their public catalogue text is used here.