Answers: How Long Does It Take To Biodegrade?

April 12, 2008

From 4/11/08:

Can you put this list in order? (Answers below)

  • Tin Can
  • Disposable Diaper
  • Plastic 6-pack Holder
  • Paper
  • Wool Cap
  • Aluminum Can
  • Glass Bottles
  • Rubber Boot Sole
  • Banana Peel
  • Cigarette Butt
  • Hard Plastic Container

Here are the answers to the list I posted yesterday: (I did my research at the Bureau of Land Management)

  1. Paper: 2-4 Weeks
  2. Banana Peel: 3-5 Weeks
  3. Wool Cap: 1 Year
  4. Cigarette Butt: 2-5 Years
  5. Disposable Diaper: 10-20 Years
  6. Hard Plastic Container: 20-30 Years
  7. Rubber Boot Sole: 50-80 Years
  8. Tin Can: 80-100 Years
  9. Aluminum Can: 200-400 Years
  10. Plastic 6-pack Holder: 450 Years
  11. Glass Bottles: A Very, Very Long Time (Forever)

I am sad to say that I am confused by time frame claims above regarding cigarette butts and plastics (container and 6-pack holder) by our governmental resource (in this case, the Bureau of Land Management). I have found credible websites that list a time span closer to 12 years for a cigarette butt to biodegrade and some filters are made of a material that never degrades (Butts Out website and Cigarette Litter website). My research has also shown that scientists estimate plastics can take 1000 Years to degrade - meanwhile, they litter the environment, harm wildlife, leach plasticizers and other toxins into the environment and aren’t fully recyclable . (See these websites for competing information and to learn about plastic: Education World, Salon). Depending on where I research, I’ve found estimates from 20 years to forever given as an estimation to the biodegradation of plastic. The American Plastics Council website wrote a nice article about how plastics can’t be expected to degrade in a landfill because landfills are mummifiers, not composters. Then they changed the subject and quoted statistics regarding how much paper vs. plastic is estimated to be contained in landfills.

There is a biodegradable plastic made from corn (PLA - polylactic acid) becoming more widely used. You can read about it here (Smithsonian website). It is nice to see more “natural” alternatives in development, although a better solution might be to work on our throwaway society’s mindset.

Future generations will deal with our waste for thousands of years to come, it is up to us to prevent the generation of waste and develop better and more creative ways of manufacturing and packaging our products. A great way to begin is by consciously lessening the amount you throw away and seriously thinking about the “cycle” of recycling - buy recycled, don’t just fill a recycling bin!

Cecily Sig

Posted by cecilyvan | Filed Under Volunteer, Living Green, Global Warming, Blog 

Comments

7 Responses to “Answers: How Long Does It Take To Biodegrade?”

  1. cecilyvan on April 12th, 2008 9:04 am

    I hope this list was both surprising and helpful…I was shocked that glass takes so long to degrade. That is why it is so important to recycle as much glass as you can. The plastics part just depressed me, because I realize the usefulness of it (think medical), but I also feel that it has been misused and as American consumers, we definitely waste our expensive and precious oil reserves on some plastic applications (I cringe when I think of the cheap plastic toys my children collect at restaurants and birthday parties). I am also frustrated at the lack of good information - I was really hoping to find a definitive answer for the question of how long plastic takes to degrade - and I just didn’t find one.

  2. HeadMutha on April 12th, 2008 10:57 am

    UGH… recycle, recycle, recycle.

    Thanks Cecily for the great info.

  3. Julie on April 12th, 2008 10:18 pm

    I believe it! I am proud to say that as of last week we have switched to cloth diapers! Wow, and the research on the subject was daunting, I must say!

    Good point though. It’s not enough to just recycle, we have to find ways to make the most of those efforts. I believe it needs to begin the sources of mass consumption. CORPORATIONS! They simply need to be held accountable for the impact they have on the environment!

    20/20 did a special on the most Eco-friendly fast food chains in America… calling praise to McDonald’s! If I had a quarter for every time they “chucked” an order when they simply could have “added’ the missing item, I’d be RICH! It’s especially damaging when those orders contain meat items!!!

    Great post!

  4. Mike on April 13th, 2008 6:11 am

    The “bio-degradabilty” of an item does not make it a benificial product, in fact, it could be an indication of low durability. Bricks are good for building because they don’t biodegrade. So don’t worry about glass or something not “degrading”. What we need is more recycling. I also don’t think bio-degradable plastics in most applications are a good thing, but plastics from renewable resources are. Most degradable plastics aren’t recyclable - a real waste - especially if they are made from food crops. Make it, toss it - lose all the energy it took to make it - sounds really dumb.

    Bio-degradable filters for cigs make a lot of sense however, if only because many smokers are, well, litterers.

    Landfills don’t degrade anything well either, and there are newspapers way older than weeks old in them - try decades!

  5. Jeff Turner on April 14th, 2008 8:48 am

    Mike makes some great points above.

  6. Cecily VanPuyvelde on April 14th, 2008 9:40 am

    I agree that Mike has made key comments regarding waste. And I am so happy that my list has sparked thought…

    Readers - please keep in mind that this list refers more to litter than trash in a landfill. I should have been more specific in my writing. I had written a post on landfills several weeks ago and I forget that not everyone has read my post on landfills that is reading the list above.

    In the post on landfills, I commented on landfills being preservers of trash - not composters. This is because landfills create anaerobic (without air) and without water environment. Trash isn’t meant to decompose in a landfill - that would create many more environmental threats than the current method.

    With that in mind - no type of plastic - biodegradable or otherwise will ever degrade in a landfill. It just isn’t supposed to. So if PLA’s become more popular, the manufacturers and waste management companies are going to need to make sure that we consumers understand and have newer easier ways of disposing of that degradable material in a manner that allows it to degrade as meant. Otherwise - degradable plastic is a waste of scientists energy as well as the natural resources used to make it.

    The other key factor here is reycling - think of all the unnecessary waste preserved in a landfill. Just as Mike said - newspapers from decades ago - preserved perfectly. That newspaper could have been recycled if properly disposed of. I live in California and am lucky that I have so many resources at hand for recycling - many of you do not have that luxury. Please keep asking for recycling programs in your city/town if you don’t have access to it. Write to your local government and waste collection company.

    Recycle your items, but also try to purchase items made from recycled material. And remember, recycling is good, but a better solution is waste prevention. Now that I know my waste is being preserved in a landfill that will someday be the surface of a park or golf course, I have a much harder time throwing things out. I am also thinking more about what I purchase and how it can be recycled in the future. For example, plastics. A popular item these days - the drinking water bottle - made from PET/PETE (Polyethylene Terephthalate) cannot be recycled into a new water bottle. It will be recycled into fiber for carpet. Carpet is not recyclable when it’s usefulness is over.

  7. Bioplast on April 14th, 2008 10:38 am

    Normal plastics can take up to 300-400 years degrade and you can still find some pieces of it somewhere.

    Now there is an great alternative to recycling and reuseable bags for those who forgets their canvas bag in the car or at home which is called “Bioplast Biodegradable Plastics.”

    Bioplast is a manufacturing company of BIOPLAST Branded Biodegradable Garbage Bags for the household markets and for the industry as well as Biodegradable Carrier Bags for the retail sector using their own patented unique formula of bacteria enzyme base substrate as against starch base as used by other manufacturers world over which has a cost addition of 300%-400%.

    This is the only biotechnology in the world using bacteria enzyme base substrate which is 100% biodegradable within 6 months after disposal as per ASTM-D 5988-1996 and EN 13432:2000 / ISO 14855 standards with the lowest cost addition of 15%-20%.

    Bioplast biodegradable products are also compostable and non-toxic, hence enhancing the nutritive value of the remaining soil.

    We believe that this great innovation will go a long way in preserving the ecological balance around the world which has brought intelligent and affordable solution to the disposal of polyethylene plastic waste problem worldwide.

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