How long does it take for different types of waste to decompose? Plastic decomposition
I have long wanted to “launch” this topic on the blog. It concerns the problem of garbage and pollution of our planet. Well, who doesn’t observe this terrible picture of pollution of cities and villages, especially in the last decades. Of course, it is connected with the activities of mankind and the development of production technologies. We have learned how to produce, but not how to destroy waste from this production. This topic is especially relevant for the countries of the so-called third world and... CIS countries.
It is now sad and mournful to look at everything that is happening related to littering and pollution: how will future generations live on this planet, which has been turned into a garbage dump?
As a result of the development of technologies in the sphere of consumption, the materials from which objects are made self-destruct (decompose) for a very long time and more and more of them appear. This needs to be dealt with somehow. And immediately!
And now, for reference:
examples of types of materials and products that can pollute the environment until they are completely decomposed
progressively, starting with examples where the product decomposes faster and ends with the longest spontaneously destroyed one.
1. Animal waste products
Simply put, droppings from animals living in cities and in which humans are somehow involved.
The period of “self-destruction” is not long - 10-15 days, but this does not reduce the problematic nature of the issue. Why is clear without explanation :).
2. Food waste
Decomposition time is about a month. But the smell from decomposition products is usually very unpleasant.
3. Newspaper
Decomposes within one to three months. Depending on the weather conditions and other environmental reasons. However, as with most other types of garbage.
4. Leaves, twigs and seeds - “tree-bush”
the garbage that street cleaners “work” with and that participants in cleanup work actively fight with :)
The decay period is three to four months.
5. Cardboard and boxes made from it
Decomposes within three months. Or even more.
6. Office paper
Office (“writing”) paper takes longer to decompose than newspaper and cardboard: two years.
7. Construction boards
The decomposition period reaches ten years.
8. Cans
In normal environments they decompose within ten years.
9. Old shoes
When thrown into a landfill, it is destroyed in approximately 10 years.
10. Iron products
They turn into iron oxide (i.e. decompose) in 10-20 years. Depending on the “texture”.
11. Car batteries
Destroyed in about 100 years.
12. Foil
And it will take more than 100 years for it to disintegrate...
13. Electric batteries
For some reason, they “live” before decomposition longer than batteries—about 110 years.
14. Rubber tires
Can only decompose within 120-140 years.
15. Plastic bottles
This very common product of the creation of mankind and its high technologies over the past 30 years brings many benefits. But such bottles, alas, take a very long time to decompose: whole 200 years!
16. Aluminum cans
It's a terrible thing, I tell you. Aluminum decomposes within 500 years. It’s understandable - non-ferrous metal. But it’s just in vain that they began to use it for domestic purposes, probably. It’s good that the homeless collect them and hand them over to scrap metal collection points.
17. Glass
Oh, this is glass... A product that humanity invented a long time ago and there is no point in talking about its benefits and significance for people. One thing is unpleasant: of all the products created using the technology of processing silicon into this transparent liquid and solid under normal conditions, it is very difficult to “evaporate”. Glass takes longer to break apart than any other household product - more than 1000 years! Citizens, do not throw glass in places where people and other fauna and flora live! Take care of nature and our Planet!
You can find a lot of information on the Internet about the decomposition times of different types of waste, however, as a rule, the official source of information is not indicated and some figures are questionable. The Epoch Times analyzed several specialized sources on English language, to clarify the time frame during which garbage decomposes. The publication presents infographics for a more visual understanding.
According to environmental policy expert Tatiana Tevkun, official landfills alone occupy about 7% of Ukraine's territory. At the same time, waste accumulation increases by 5-7% annually.
Although individual city residents can take waste to specialized collection points marked during the Epoch Times, the issue has not been resolved at the state level, and the majority of the population continues to throw all waste into one box.
Let's see how many years it will take for the waste that ends up in a landfill to decompose.
The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services website has published a list that gives an idea of the approximate decomposition time of some items that end up in the trash.
At the same time, the decomposition period of plastic bags given in this table raises doubts. Many Ukrainian sources give their decomposition period as 100-200 years. Some sources give a figure of 500 or even 1000 years. However, it is impossible to establish an exact figure for the reason that plastic bags They have been used for a little over 50 years, and scientists determine the decomposition period only experimentally.
At the same time, environmentalists say that even biodegradable bags may never break down completely. This is due to the fact that when they decompose to the smallest particles, microorganisms do not want to process them. Thus, microparticles of plastic will continue to exist in an unprocessed form, although they are not visible to the naked eye. Scientists have yet to study the influence of these particles on nature.
We also suggest that you get acquainted with data from another Western source dedicated to recycling waste - .
The website publishes the average value of decomposition times various waste on garbage dumps taken from Western information sources.
It takes over a million years for glass and ceramics to break down into smaller things under the influence of water, but they can survive indefinitely in the ground.
The decomposition period of paper is not very long, but lead dyes end up in water bodies with runoff, making the water unfit for drinking, poisoning the soil and everything that grows on it.
Of course, not everything we throw away causes damage. environment, organic waste is even useful, as it fertilizes the earth. The decomposition time of organic waste is minimal, but when it accumulates in city landfills, it produces an unpleasant odor and attracts insects and rodents that spread various infectious diseases. At the same time, it is believed that the methane gas released organic waste in a landfill, contributes to global warming.
One of the most hazardous waste are batteries and energy-saving lamps containing mercury. One battery is believed to pollute 20 meters of area or 400 liters of water.
Much of what we throw into landfills can get a second life. Sorting waste that has already ended up in a landfill is a rather difficult and costly task; the only way out is to separate human waste at the level of each family.
Do you know how long it takes for garbage to decompose? Do not know? Well, in vain - if only we were aware, we wouldn’t litter around so much. It’s especially amazing how long it takes for plastic, the most popular material for all occasions, to decompose. We will tell you the most useful facts and tips for you to share it with your friends and benefit our planet Earth.
How long do different types of garbage decompose: read and be surprised
How long does it take for plastic to decompose: regular plastic bags They decompose in 100 years, but heavy plastic or containers for chemicals last 500 years. These are some amazing numbers! Therefore, it is worth using degradable bags made from environmental materials.
Dear mothers, do you know how long it takes for a diaper to decompose? - As many as 500 years, so at least throw it in the trash can, and not past it.
How long does glass take to decompose: 1 million years! Amazed? We, too. Now put all glass bottles in special containers that will be recycled.
Don't know how long it takes for wood to decompose? About 10 years, but oak and beech - longer.
Kurts, if you don’t know how long it takes for a cigarette butt to decompose, we will answer: 5 years. This is how long it takes for a cigarette to decompose due to the cellulose acetate it contains. Still throwing away bulls anywhere?
How long does it take for polyethylene to decompose: 100 years. Therefore, now scientists all over the world are thinking about the question of what to replace it with. We suggest using paper bags.
Those who like to chew rather than talk may be wondering how long it takes for chewing gum to decompose in the ground. In hot climates this will take 30 years, and in cold climates – several hundred years.
How long does metal decompose: 100 and more years, depending on what metal it is, of course.
But a plastic bottle takes more than 100 years to decompose. Considering how long it takes for a bag to degrade and how long it takes for plastic to degrade, let's not be pigs.
Remember it yourself and share this information with others to make them think. Here is a visual video on Youtube that will tell you what our bad upbringing costs nature.
We are waiting for your likes and comments. J Did you find the article useful? Read it to your teenage children. They often do not think about how bad such thoughtlessness and laziness affects nature. It is much easier to bring garbage to the trash can than to deal with the consequences of soil pollution. Waste processing technologies are improving, the main thing is that the garbage ends up where it should be - in a landfill. Respect the work of janitors. We also advise you to watch a video from Youtube about how each of us can not only not litter, but tidy up a certain area of the forest or our yard to make it clean.
Where you can use paper, use it rather than plastic. This can improve the ecology and conservation of species in your region. Many materials are toxic, they are very harmful to both plants and animals, and pollute water bodies. Think about it. And so many factors, especially in big cities, affect the environment.
If you at least sometimes pay attention to environmental problems, then you probably know the damage plastic causes to our planet. This collection contains 20 facts about plastic that will make you think even more about whether it is worth using it en masse
1. It takes about 450 years before plastic begins to decompose. After that, it will still pass 50-80 years until it completely decomposes. At the current rate of production of this material, our planet will be completely covered in plastic before its decomposition begins. 
2. Taking into account the decomposition period, we can say that not a single piece of plastic produced will even begin to decompose in the next 4 centuries 
3. The average American consumed 1.6 gallons of bottled water in 1976. Already in 2006, this figure increased to 28.3 gallons and continues to grow rapidly 
4. 40% total plastic waste make up plastic bottles 
5. One more interesting fact is that 90% of the price you pay for water is the cost of plastic, while water itself costs about 10% 
6. One resident of any highly developed country buys an average of 150 bottles of water per year, without paying attention to the alternative 
7. 24 million gallons of oil are needed to produce a billion plastic bottles
8. Just 25 recycled bottles are enough to produce a jacket for an adult. 
9. Europeans are also not interested in recycling plastic. Currently, only 2.5 percent of the total is recycled in Europe 
10. One of the main polluters of the ocean is the fishing industry. throwing out a huge amount plastic waste. About 150 tons end up in the water annually, including packaging, fishing nets, and other debris 
11. This garbage causes the death of many sea creatures who mistake garbage for food. The number of animals dying is in the millions. The dumping of garbage also leads to the formation of the Great Pacific Garbage Island, where currents carry all the discarded plastic
12. Over 13 billion plastic bottles are produced worldwide every year 
13. A good sign is that over the past few years, plastic recycling in the United States has at least tripled; more than 1,600 enterprises are already involved in recycling 
14. However, the percentage of recycled plastic in the US is only 27%, which is still the highest in the world 
15. Recycling just one plastic bottle can generate enough energy to power a 60V light bulb for 6 hours. 
16. Recycling plastic can save up to 2/3 of the energy needed to make plastic from raw materials 
17. 4 out of 5 bottles in the US are made of plastic. In other countries of the world this figure is much higher 
18. Research shows that about 90% of consumers reuse plastic bags, as garbage bags or for some other purpose. 
19. Storing and shipping water in plastic bottles is the least energy-efficient method, but nevertheless the most popular 
20. Some countries have completely banned the use of plastic bottles. Among them are Australia, China, Austria, Bangladesh, Ireland and several other countries 
Many of us throw out garbage anywhere, in any place, in nature and wherever we want! Have you ever wondered how long it takes for it to decompose? I think it's unlikely. So let’s read this publication to know how long this garbage that we throw on the streets will last. The publication is informative, I hope many will draw the right conclusions!
Animal droppings are a disaster big cities. The decomposition period is short, only 10-15 days, but it causes a lot of trouble. 
Food waste. They decompose in about a month. 
Newsprint. Decomposition period from 1 month to 1 season 
Leaves, seeds, twigs. Even they can cause serious pollution in urban environments. Decomposition period 3 - 4 months 
Cardboard boxes decompose within 3 months 
Paper. The most common office paper takes 2 years to decompose 
Boards from a construction site. If they are not properly cared for, the decomposition period reaches 10 years. 
Decomposition period 11 - 13 years 
Iron cans. term 10 years 
Old shoes - 10 years 
Fragments of brick and concrete 100 years old 
Car batteries are about 100 years old 
Foil for over 100 years 
Electric batteries 110 years 
Rubber tires 120-140 years 
Plastic bottles. about 180-200 years 
Aluminum cans are almost the most dangerous waste. Decomposition period 500 years 
And finally glass. No one knows how much of it is already packed in our holiday destinations. The decomposition period of glass is more than 1000 years; at least another 12-15 generations will enjoy our fragments. 
