How Long Does It Take For Trash to Biodegrade?
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Life Span of Litter
- Aluminum Can 200-500 years
- Batteries - 100 years
- Cardboard Box- 4 weeks
- Cigarette Butt up to 10 years
- Cotton Rag- 1-5 months
- Disposable Diapers- 500-600 years years
- Glass Bottle 1Million years
- Leather- up to 50 years
- Lumber- 10-15 years
- Monofilament Fishing Line- 800 years
- Milk Cartons (plastic coated) 5 years
- Nylon Fabric- 30-40 years
- Orange Peel- 2-5 weeks
- Paper-2-5 months
- Plastic Film Container- 20-30 years
- Painted Wooden Stake- 13 years
- Plastic 6 pack cover 450 years
- Plastic Bag- up to 500 years
- Plastic Coated Paper- 5 years
- Plastic Soda Bottles- Forever
- Rope-3-14 months
- Rubber Boot sole 50-80 years
- Sanitary Pads= 500-800 years
- Styrofoam- More than 5,000 years
- Tin Cans-50-100 years
- Tin Foil- It does not biodegrade
- Wool Clothing- 1-5 years
Landfill Waste 2003
- 970 thousand tons of paper cups and plates were discarded in 2003 (EPA).
- 64 billion paper cups and plates being thrown away every year in USA.
- 730 thousand tons of styrofoam and plastic plates and cups (710 thousand tons were styrofoam)
- 73 billion mostly styrofoam cups and plates being thrown away every year in USA.
- 3,810 thousand tons of plastic containers & bottles were thrown away in 2003.
- 90 billion plastic containers & bottles being landfilled or incinerated every year.
The above numbers do not include trash bags, grocery bags and other plastic materials like trays, utensils, clam shells, caps and other plastic packaging. A total of 8000 thousand tons of these items were discarded in 2003.
