Trenton, N.J. -- As an investor in a French stave mill, Sonoma County-based winemaker Kendall-Jackson is dedicated to selecting high-quality white oak, seasoning the staves and toasting the barrels to create high-quality vehicles for aging its popular wines. At many wineries, once these meticulously crafted casks serve their purpose, the barrels are ripped apart, sold as planters or sometimes even ground into sawdust.

This wastefulness caught the eye of executives at Trenton, N.J.-based TerraCycle, a company best known for packaging its organic fertilizer in recycled plastic soda bottles.

"This is a waste stream of beautiful, handcrafted pieces of craftsmanship. Why not use them?" said Albie Zakes, director of public relations for TerraCycle. Zakes said that once his company identified wine barrels as a material that is being wasted, TerraCycle approached a handful of wineries and asked for their partnership in repurposing the barrels. Kendall-Jackson (K-J), Zakes said, responded the most enthusiastically, furthering its effort to adopt sustainability and environmentally friendly practices in winemaking.

"Typically, they had little or no resale value, and so this is a whole new market for oak barrels," said George Rose, vice president of public relations for Kendall-Jackson, who said that prior to being approached by TerraCycle, the winery put old barrels to use as planters.

The cylindrical nature of wine barrels makes them an ideal base from which to create a Rotary Composter, the TerraCycle spokesman said. Unlike other composters that you have to physically turn over to mix a compost pile, the Rotary Composter comes equipped with handles that allow owners to quickly spin the barrels--sold with wheels on the bottom--90º in order to mix the contents, Zakes said,

"There are handles drilled onto it. All you need to do to mix your compost pile is grab the handles and spin it over," he explained.

Steps to environmentalism

Everyday consumers looking to reduce their environmental footprints typically adopt two practices first, Zakes said--composting and saving rainwater for later use. In addition to the Rotary Composter, TerraCycle is using K-J's barrels to create a watertight product called Rain Barrel. Other such devices already are prevalent in the marketplace, but Zakes said the Rain Barrel is different because it's an environmental solution that's environmentally friendly itself. Instead of being made from plastic, the barrels are cleaned up French oak barrels previously used by K-J. They're also equipped with one spigot that may be attached to a hose, another ideal for filling a watering can, and holes at the top that may connect one Rain Barrel to another. The barrels may be connected to rain gutters in order to catch rain and prevent structural damage.

The road to repurposing

In order to minimize costs and emissions associated with transportation, New Jersey-based TerraCycle is using a production facility in Stockton, Calif., to convert Kendall-Jackson's used wine barrels into Rain Barrels and Rotary Composters.

K-J's Rose said that so far demand from TerraCycle has been high, and the winery has sent several thousand barrels to the Stockton facility. "It's been a real popular item, so we may have a nice, long-lasting relationship," Rose said.

Both products are available at Sam's Club, Home Depot and other nurseries and garden retailers for between $99 and $149, depending on the store.