which will decompose faster. How many years does garbage decompose: plastic, wood, metal, construction waste, etc. How long does it take for an aluminum can to decompose?

Every day we see abandoned bottles, leftover food, plastic bags, paper and plastic cups and other garbage on the roads, sidewalks, yards and parks that were simply left on the street.

Sometimes it seems to us that in another day it will be removed, and in the landfill it will begin to decompose. But, firstly, not everywhere the garbage is removed in a timely manner, and secondly, some garbage can decompose for thousands of years.

How long does garbage take to decompose?

Scientists have already proven that plastic bottles and bags can lie for hundreds, thousands and even millions of years and not decompose.
Here is a list of the things we throw away and how long it takes for that garbage to decompose.

Paper and food waste

2 weeks
Apple cores and other fruit leftovers.

Although this is a fairly short time to decompose, leftover food on the ground can attract unwanted "friends" such as rats.

About 1 month
Paper napkins, paper bags, newspapers, paper towels.

The time it takes these things to decompose can vary greatly, as it depends on how you got rid of that type of trash.

6 weeks
Cereal boxes, paper bags, banana peels.

Banana peel may take longer to decompose if the weather is cooler. Since the peel is designed to keep the fruit fresh, it is high in cellulose, the same material that plastic bags are made from.

Some conservationists warn that the skins of some fruits, including banana peels, can take months to decompose. Even if the product is natural, this does not mean that it decomposes quickly.

2 to 3 months
Cardboard packaging for milk and juices and other types of cardboard.

The decomposition time of the cardboard primarily depends on its thickness. It is worth noting that some cartons may contain chemicals that significantly slow down the decomposition process.

6 months
Cotton clothes and paper books.

Of all types of fabrics, cotton decomposes the fastest because it is natural. If the cotton fabric thrown into the landfill is quite thin, then in warm weather it can decompose in just a week.

1 year
Woolen clothes (sweaters, socks).

Wool is a natural product and can decompose relatively quickly. What's more, as wool decomposes, it releases soil-friendly elements such as keratins. This product cannot be called completely garbage, as it does not cause long-term harm to the environment.

2 years
Orange peel, plywood, cigarette butts (although some studies indicate that cigarette butts can take over 10 years to decompose).

Up to 5 years
Heavy clothing made of wool, such as a coat or overcoat.

plastic trash

Up to 20 years old
Plastic bags. But studies show that in some cases, plastic bags can take up to 1,000 years to decompose.

Many new plastic bags are designed to degrade quickly when exposed to direct sunlight.
However, most plastic bags are made from high-density polyethylene. Microorganisms in the ground do not perceive the chemicals that make up the bag as food, and therefore they do not participate in its decomposition.

30-40 years old
Products containing nylon: bodysuits, windbreakers, carpets, diapers. Some scientists believe that such goods can take up to 500 years to decompose, depending on environmental conditions.

While diapers are quite comfortable, they are also quite toxic, even if you haven't used them yet. They are processed with a variety of chemicals such as toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene, and dipentene, as well as a chemical called dioxin, which is a highly toxic carcinogen.

Metal debris, rubber, leather

50 years
Tin cans, car tires, Styrofoam cups, leather.

Leather can be chemically treated (as in the case of fashion items) and take much longer to decompose.
The thick leather used to make shoes can take up to 80 years to decompose.

Decomposition of polyethylene

70 to 80 years old
Rustling plastic bags (from chips and packaging, for example).

Despite the fact that a person eats the contents of a bag of chips very quickly, the bags themselves decompose for a long time. For example, one US resident found an empty bag of crisps on a Devon beach, dated 1967, but the bag itself looked like it had been thrown away last week.

About 100 years
Polyethylene products.

Of course, the decomposition time depends on the density and structure of the goods. For example, ordinary plastic shopping bags can take up to 100 years to decompose.
Also in the category of things that can decompose for more than a century includes plastic bottles and various plastic containers and bowls.
It is worth noting that small parts made of polyethylene can be dangerous for animals that can choke on them.

Aluminum decomposition

About 200 years
Aluminum cans (from beer or soda, for example).

In this case, everything also depends on the density of the material and its structure. In the best case, such objects decompose for 200 years, but this process can drag on for half a millennium.
It is worth noting that, like plastic products, such items are dangerous for small animals that can climb into an empty jar and get stuck in it.
Such cans can be recycled many times and this process requires much less energy than creating a new can. Using the same amount of energy, you can make 20 recycled cans or 1 new aluminum can.

Recycling aluminum cans

Plastic decomposition

Details Published: 01/29/2016 09:08

The decomposition of plastic has become one of the most urgent problems of our time, as a very real danger looms over the planet to completely “drown” in the mountains of plastic bottles and plastic bags.

In the Pacific Ocean, not far from Indonesia, a whole continent of plastic bottles and other waste has already formed, exceeding the size of the largest island - Greenland. And the production of plastic products and plastic containers is growing and growing - only over the past 10 years in Russia, the volume of its production has increased 10 times.

Classification of additives that accelerate the decomposition of plastic

Oxo-additives speed up the crushing of bags into small pieces, which no longer harm animals so much. All toxic properties are preserved, and the complete decomposition of these small pieces is not accelerated.
Additives that accelerate the breakdown of polymer molecular chains under the influence of sunlight, certain air temperature, moisture and other activating factors. The term of decomposition of polyethylene with such additives is accelerated up to 5 years.
Additives that cause the release of carbon and hydrogen molecules from plastic, which are already freely absorbed by bacteria and fungi.
Finally, a biopolymer is a plastic made from plant waste, such as corn stalks. It is the most harmless and rapidly degradable polymer option available today.

How long do different types of plastic decompose without additives?

The decomposition of plastic proceeds at different rates depending on its composition. Plastic bags decompose the fastest - about 100 years in the soil. Products made of polypropylene and other types of food and non-food plastics decompose much longer. The period of their complete decomposition in the soil is at least 500 years. For comparison - the period of decomposition of aluminum canisters is 500 years, cans - 100 years, bones - from 10 years. The decomposition time of plastic in water increases many times over and is not even known exactly. Plastic bags floating in the water cause mass death of fish and birds. But that is not all. During the decomposition of plastic, toxic substances are released into the environment that poison the soil and water (styrene, formaldehyde, phenol, chlorprene, urethane, etc.).

What other options are offered to solve the problem?

Cessation of the production of food plastic containers and plastic bags following the example of China and India.
Further development of so-called biopolymers, i.e. plastics that decompose quickly in natural conditions without releasing toxic substances.
Changing the composition of household polymers to reversible ones (those that can be remelted many times).
Breeding a special type of bacteria that will process and neutralize plastic residues in special storage facilities. It is supposed to remove such bacteria by the method of genetic modification.

When you accidentally drop a ketchup bottle on the floor, you mentally thank the manufacturer for the plastic packaging. Most containers, cups and bottles are made using polyethylene terephthalate, or PET. This is a material that is practically indestructible.

But when it comes time to throw the same bottle in the landfill, you will probably have other thoughts. Now the feeling of gratitude to the producers is replaced by shame for their behavior. We regularly buy plastic packaging and then throw it away. However, petroleum-based materials (such as PET) do not biodegrade.

What is biodegradation?

Relatively quickly, wood, herbs, and food waste completely decompose in the soil. Biodegradation is the name of a process that destroys complex substances as a result of the activity of living organisms (for example, earthworms or bacteria). In practice, microorganisms transform organic materials (paper, cardboard, weeds, vegetable and fruit residues) into other useful compounds suitable for increasing soil fertility.

Ecology in danger

However, neither bacteria nor worms will want to deal with plastic. You can experiment in a garden compost pit. On one side, load organic materials for these little gluttons, and on the other side, fill them with plastic bags and bottles. Be sure to water well and then cover with soil. When checking the condition of the compost pit during the summer, you will find crumbly humus on one side. On the other hand, your "gifts" will remain intact. The decomposition of plastic at best will occur in 200 years.

Discovery by Daniel Byrd

Of course, this is not the end of the story. In recent years, several outstanding discoveries have been recorded in the scientific community. So, for example, Daniel Bird, a student at the University of Waterloo, proved that certain types of bacteria can destroy plastic. His research won the top prize at the Canada-wide Science Fair, earning the young scientist $10,000 in cash and $20,000 in incentive scholarships.

Photoaging process

And while other researchers replicate Byrd's experiment and wait for results, let's look for other possible methods of plastic degradation. The only real way to degrade this material is through photoaging, which requires a lot of sunlight, not bacteria. When UV rays penetrate plastic, they break the bonds that hold this long polymer chain together. It will take a long time, but someday a large piece of plastic will fall apart into many small elements.

Finding a solution to the problem

Garbage dumps are filled with polyethylene terephthalate products, but most of them are safely hidden from sunlight. There is an alternative option for trying to decompose plastic, which is unlikely to please environmentalists. The world's oceans absorb tons of waste, and water contributes to the penetration of ultraviolet rays to the very depths. Researchers from Nihon University (Japan) in 2007 came to the conclusion that plastic, immersed in warm ocean water, begins to lose its structure after a year.

The oceans are like a garbage dump

You will not notice anything reprehensible in this until you think about marine life. These microscopic bits of decomposing plastic hide toxic substances. When these toxins enter the intestines of animals, they can kill marine life. Well, the tides throw decaying pieces of plastic onto the sea beaches. Vacationers think that they are going to the sea for recovery, but they receive a blow to their health.

How can this problem be solved?

One way to prevent a biological disaster is to use biodegradable plastic. Food packaging is currently being developed from corn and polylactic acid, which breaks down into carbon dioxide and water over a period of 50 to 90 days.

On the Internet, you can find a lot of information about the timing of the decomposition 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 in English to clarify the time frame during which garbage decomposes. The publication presents infographics for a more visual perception.

According to environmental policy expert Tatyana Tevkun, official landfills alone occupy about 7% of Ukraine's territory. At the same time, the accumulation of waste increases by 5-7% annually.

Although individual residents of the city can take waste to specialized collection points marked on the Epoch Times, the issue has not been resolved at the state level, and most of the population continues to throw all waste into one box.

Let's see how many years the waste that ends up in the landfill will decompose.

The website of the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services has published a list that gives an idea of the approximate decomposition time of some things that get into the trash.

At the same time, the period of decomposition of plastic bags given in this table is questionable. In many Ukrainian sources, the period of their decomposition is 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 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 fully decompose. 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. The influence of these particles on nature has yet to be studied by scientists.

We also invite you to get acquainted with the data from another Western source dedicated to the recycling of waste -.

The site publishes the average value of the decomposition time of various wastes in landfills, taken from Western sources of information.

It takes more than a million years for glass and ceramics to turn into smaller things under the influence of water, but in the earth they can last indefinitely.

The decomposition period of paper is not very long, but lead dyes with effluents enter water bodies, making water unsuitable for drinking, poisoning the soil and everything that grows on it.

Of course, not everything that we throw away is harmful to the environment, organic waste is even useful, as it fertilizes the earth. The decomposition time of organic waste is minimal, but, accumulating in urban landfills, they emit an unpleasant odor and attract insects and rodents that spread various infectious diseases. At the same time, the methane gas emitted by landfill organic waste is believed to contribute to global warming.

Some of the most hazardous waste is batteries and energy-saving lamps containing mercury. One battery is considered to pollute 20 square meters or 400 liters of water.

Much of what we throw in the landfill can get a second life. Sorting garbage that has already ended up in a landfill is a rather complicated and costly task, the only way out is to separate human waste at the level of each family.

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People are the only inhabitants of the Earth who leave behind a huge amount of waste. The earth is littered with billions of tons of waste, the process of decomposition of which greatly harms the environment.

In the West, this problem has long begun to worry environmentalists, and in the civilized countries of the world, separate waste collection has long been introduced.

For improper sorting, or throwing garbage on the sidewalks and in the entrances, people are fined.

Even in developed countries, this system took root for a long time. But now most people cannot even imagine that household waste can be simply, without sorting, thrown into a container or to an unauthorized dump, which the ravines and forests of Russia are “famous for”.

Most people do not even think about how many years garbage decomposes, and what irreparable harm it causes to nature. But the terms of waste decomposition reach thousands and millions of years.

By throwing unsorted garbage into a landfill, a person solves his local problem: there is no more garbage in the house. On a human scale, this is turning into a serious threat to the environment.

Construction Materials

After construction and major repairs, garbage remains in huge quantities, and few care about its disposal. To find out the decomposition time of construction waste in nature, just look at abandoned houses that have not yet been demolished.

Concrete, bricks, metal parts, glass and even boards - all these types of waste decompose for a long time.

Brick and concrete

The decomposition period of brick and concrete waste is over a hundred years. This is a slow and long process in which brick and concrete gradually crumble into crumbs.

iron fittings

Iron fittings, as well as screws, bolts, nails, and other building details, will rust and begin to crumble no earlier than in thirteen years.

Boards

If stored improperly, boards can rot for decades. A lot of insects and pests start up in rotten boards, which speed up the decomposition time, but they are not limited to wood waste and move to residential buildings.

paper waste

Paper decomposition takes a relatively short amount of time. However, clean paper products are rarely considered trash.

Most often, paper waste with typographic printing is thrown away. The paint contains toxic substances that, if released into the ground, harm the environment.

Many people know that paper is made from trees. But few remember that by throwing paper waste into a landfill, and not sending it for recycling, they are directly involved in the deforestation necessary to preserve the ecosystem.

Newspapers, magazines, printing products

The decomposition time of thin newsprint lasts from one month to three or four. Thicker magazine paper takes much longer to decompose, a process that can take up to several years.

Cardboard products

Appliance cartons, milk, juice and other food cartons, and many other cardboard waste take three to four months to decompose.

Paper

The simplest paper for printers will take from two years to decompose.

household waste

Household garbage appears every day in gigantic quantities in all residential buildings and enterprises. Most types of this garbage decompose for a very long time, and the components contained in it greatly pollute the environment.

old shoes

The decay time of old shoes that have turned into garbage is affected by what material they are made of. On average, it takes ten years for one pair of boots to completely decompose.

Plastic bottles, bags, other plastic products

Plastic itself is a dangerous toxic product.

Without recycling, this garbage will decompose for more than two hundred years, while polluting the soil, water and creating a fire hazard.

aluminum cans

The decomposition period of aluminum cans is more than five hundred years. At the moment, this type of garbage occupies a leading position on the planet.

Aluminum cans are toxic, and the oxidation that accompanies the decomposition process releases harmful substances.

canned food jars

Cans of stew, condensed milk, sprats and other metal waste from food under natural conditions decompose from ten to fifty years.

Glass

Glass containers are very easily processed into other glass products, because it is based on environmentally friendly material - sand.

According to some reports, glass waste, lying in landfills by the ton, takes a million years to completely decompose. Other studies claim that glass cannot decompose at all in natural conditions.

Cloth

Natural cotton clothing will take the least time to decompose. Garbage made of thin cotton fabric in hot weather will rot in a week.

Woolen things also cannot be called garbage, in the full sense of the word, since the decomposition process lasts about a year, while useful fines get into the soil.

The garbage that unnecessary things from synthetics become is much more dangerous. It can take years to decompose, creating a toxic and flammable environment.

Food waste will decompose for about a month, while exuding a very pungent odor. By disposing of food waste not in landfills, but in natural areas, people pose a serious threat to animals, as spoiled and chemically processed foods can cause serious poisoning in wild animals and lead to fatal consequences.

Foil

Chocolate wrappers, chicken wrappers, meat wrappers and other food wrappers will take over a hundred years to decompose.

Although the foil is very thin, it is very strongly compressed, which makes it much more difficult for the debris to decompose.

Other types of garbage

There are a lot of different types of garbage that people produce. It is almost impossible to list the decomposition time of all of them.

Among them, there are especially dangerous types of waste that require disposal, which are found daily on the streets of Russian cities and ordinary landfills.

car batteries

Used car batteries will take over 100 years to decompose. And although it is much more profitable to hand over this type of garbage for recycling, having received about five hundred rubles for this, people prefer to simply throw it away.

Lithium batteries

The decomposition time of one battery is more than a hundred years. The greatest harm to the environment is caused not by the long decay time itself, but by those substances that the battery releases during the oxidation process.

They are so bad for the environment that many charities are suggesting that people store these batteries at home so they can pick them up from their apartment in bulk.

Also, many electronics stores offer to return batteries at points of sale in order to reduce the negative human impact on the environment.

Tires

Rubber is another type of waste that will take at least a hundred years to decompose. When replacing tires at repair points, drivers usually leave the old tires in the same place, and the owners of car services take them in for recycling.

natural trash

Not only does man harm the environment, but the environment also harms man.

Litter of animals

The process of decomposition of animal waste products is fast: from ten to fifteen days. However, in large cities, streets and dog parks are becoming a tangible problem.

In addition, the feces of animals can contain harmful substances that cause various diseases, including in humans.

Another reason for the frequent pollution of cities with dishonest utilities is the leaves, branches and seeds of trees, which can take up to four months to decompose.

It is clean not where they clean, but where they do not litter.

If every citizen of Russia takes responsibility for sorting and sending for processing their own waste, then the problem of global pollution of urban, natural areas, as well as illegal dumps will disappear with time.