DALLAS, TX -- The last time you popped a cork on a bottle of wine, what did you do with it? Some people collect them, others throw them in the trash, but at one of the world's largest airlines, corks now get first class treatment and a whole new life.

At all the airport lounges in all the cities around the world, idle hours are passed over a good glass of wine. Okay, maybe a few glasses of wine.

At the American Airlines’ Admiral's Clubs, the corks pile up, hundreds of them. Thousands every year. About 13 billion corks are sold every year around the world, and most of them wind up in landfills.

For these corks, this is not the end of the road. No trash can in their future. They're about to catch a flight to a new beginning.

"We didn't realize the value of a cork and the things a cork could be used for," said Nancy Knipp, president of the Admiral’s Club.

American Airlines is now recycling corks at it's Admiral's Clubs across the country, working with a company that turns them into wood floors and all kinds of things that use natural cork.

"You can even use it for compost in the gardens and they recycle it," says Knipp.

"I had no idea you could recycle the wine corks like that. No idea at all,” said Chad Sizemore, and American Airlines passenger.

As passengers hear about it, they've started bringing in their own corks from home. Those will be recycled too.

"The response we've gotten from our customers and our employees has been incredible, and it really shows people are concerned about the environment and want to do something to help the environment," says Knipp.

So, add one more thing to the recycling pile.

"Recycle anything these days. My wife would be happy. I am the guy who gets yelled at if I throw the wrong stuff in the wrong bin," says passenger Greg Hallmark.

But Knipp says there's no need to separate the Shiraz from the Chardonnay. "Hopefully encourages people to buy more wine, too."

By the end of the year, American Airlines hopes to recycle more than 5,000 corks.