What Cannot be decompose?
Plastic does not decompose. This means that all plastic that has ever been produced and has ended up in the environment is still present there in one form or another.
Styrofoam is 95% air and light weight, making it ideal for single-use packaging but very difficult to break down or recycle. As a result, Styrofoam never decomposes and stays in landfill forever.
Paper takes even less time to decompose than cardboard, at just 2 to 6 weeks. And like cardboard, paper is 100% recyclable.
The main factors that affect decomposition are temperature, water, and oxygen. A warmer environment promotes the reproduction of microorganisms and faster decomposition of materials – up until it becomes too hot for them to survive. A cold environment will hinder, or entirely stop, the decomposition process.
The reason for the slow degradation is a simple one. These materials do not exist in nature, and therefore, there are no naturally occurring organisms that can break them down effectively or at all. The chemical bonds in plastic materials are not accessible or “familiar” to bacteria in nature.
The enzymes in the microorganisms that break down biodegradeable materials don't recognize the bonds that hold polymers together. Eventually, the polymers in plastic waste may break down, perhaps after hundreds of thousands of years. But when it takes such a long time, the damage is already done to the environment.
Waste that cannot be decomposed by biological processes is known as “Non-biodegradable wastes”. Most of the inorganic waste is non-biodegradable. Non-biodegradable wastes that can be recycled are known as “Recyclable waste” and those which cannot be recycled are known as “Non-recyclable waste”.
Glass: up to 4,000 years
A frightening 4,000 years is how long it takes a glass bottle to decompose in the environment. Every time we leave a recipient of this kind in the countryside, we are putting the environment and its ecosystem at risk.
However, if your metal items aren't properly recycled, they could be placed in landfill, where they will take a long time to decompose. Steel takes approximately 50 years to decompose, while aluminium can last up to 200 years.
Does paper dissolve in water? While there are various biodegradable paper options on the market that can quickly dissolve in water, most conventional paper is not so sensitive to water and therefore takes longer to break down.
What things take forever to decompose?
| Vegetables | 5 days –1 month |
|---|---|
| Aluminium cans | 80–100 years |
| Glass bottles | 1 million years |
| Styrofoam cup | 500 years to forever |
| Plastic bags | 500 years to forever |
- Glass bottles. Time to break down: one million years.
- Plastic bags. Time to break down: 200-500 years.
- Aluminium cans. Time to break down: 80-200 years.
- Rubber-soled shoes. Time to break down: 50-80 years.
- Tin cans. Time to break down: 50 years.
- Clothing. Time to break down: up to 40 years.
- Plastic film* ...
- Paper coffee cups.
The structural breakdown of skeletal remains follows a lengthy decomposition process, progressing from the appearance of cracking along the bone to complete loss of shape and skeletal integrity, that can occur in as early as 6 years or as long as 30.
It takes 1,000 years for a plastic bag to degrade in a landfill. Unfortunately, the bags don't break down completely but instead photo-degrade, becoming microplastics that absorb toxins and continue to pollute the environment.
The Books Themselves
Depending on when the book was published, the paper, ink and binding material could all deteriorate or corrode over time. Paper is vulnerable to chemical reactions during the ageing process and leather bindings are vulnerable to damage if they get too damp or frozen.
When glass breaks down, it remains safe and stable, and releases no harmful chemicals into the soil. So even when glass isn't recycled, it does minimal harm to the environment.
All non-living things are eventually broken down into simple molecules by the elements, microorganisms, and the ravages of time, but some things take significantly longer to decompose than others.
In fact, it can take a glass bottle one million years to decompose in the environment, possibly even more if it's in a landfill. Because its life cycle is so long, and because glass doesn't leach any chemicals, it's better to repurpose and reuse it over and over again before recycling it.
It is one of very few materials that NEVER ever – yes that's right – never, decomposes. While it may take a plastic bottle 450 years to decompose and a glass bottle 1 million, Styrofoam stays strong and doesn't give in to the elements of nature, ever.
Examples: Organic: coffee grounds, food scraps, banana peels, bread crusts, paper, paper towels, cardboard. Inorganic: Plastic soda bottles, glass, yogurt cups, spoons, cellophane, aluminum cans, plastic bags.
How long does PET take to decompose?
Well, according to some researchers, they estimate that due to the PET used in objects like plastic bags, plastic water bottles and plastic straws, it could take upwards of 450 years to decompose.
Plastic Waste
Normally, plastic items take up to 1000 years to decompose in landfills. But plastic bags we use in our everyday life take 10-20 years to decompose, while plastic bottles take 450 years.
Belgian chemist and clever marketeer Leo Baekeland pioneered the first fully synthetic plastic in 1907. He beat his Scottish rival, James Swinburne, to the patent office by one day. His invention, which he would christen Bakelite, combined two chemicals, formaldehyde and phenol, under heat and pressure.
For a polymer to be categorized as “biodegradable”, more than 60–70% of the sample must be degraded within 6 months. PET cannot meet these conditions and is accordingly categorized as a non‐biodegradable polymer.
Be does not decompose water due to its small size and high ionisation energy but it will react with the oxygen of H2O.