What takes 200 years to decompose. What happens in the coffin with the body? Interesting Facts

In 2016, an intact yogurt cup washed ashore on a Canadian beach. What was unusual was the fact that the yogurt was produced during Olympic Games, which were held in Montreal in 1976. This means that the cup was able to float in the ocean for as long as 40 years without showing any signs of change. A logical question arises: “How long does it take for it to decompose?”

But it's not that simple. Most common types of plastics are not biodegradable and cannot be broken down by bacteria or other living organisms. However, technically all plastic is biodegradable. The word "decomposable" simply means that something will be broken down into smaller components without changing chemical composition. In this case, plastic will not return to the cycle of matter in nature, but will simply turn into many fine particles, which will not allow environmental problem. Plastic made on a basis that simply “breaks” into fine sand will still not be able to be digested by microorganisms.

IN modern industry So-called additives are added to some types of plastic, which accelerate the process of “decomposition” under certain conditions. For example, there is photodegradable plastic, which becomes brittle when exposed to light. Or oxo-degradable plastic, which becomes more brittle when exposed to oxygen. These methods will help eliminate some of the planet's plastic, but again, it won't help the plastics at the bottom of landfills or the ocean floor. In addition, it is worth knowing that almost every piece of plastic ever created on our planet still exists today. This means not only that every day the number plastic waste is only growing, but also that older types of plastics are destroyed only under mechanical stress. Well, let's see how long it takes for plastic to “decompose.”

Have you ever wondered how quickly the environment will turn a plastic bottle into dust? old tire or banana peel? The problem of household waste disposal is not limited to the fact that unscrupulous people throw out garbage in undesignated places, including during outdoor recreation. Those household waste, which are collected centrally and sent to landfills without sorting, cause no less harm to the planet.

It will take hundreds of years before mountains of garbage covered with soil will no longer pose a danger to the environment. We suggest you see how long it will take for the generated garbage to become part of nature.

Food waste

This category includes the most rapidly decomposing waste. Leftovers food products rot under the influence of microorganisms within 1 month. The exception is orange peel: it takes much longer for the environment to process it - from 4 to 6 months.

Paper and printed matter

Regular paper and cardboard decompose in 1-2 months, but books or printed materials can take up to two years. The process of recycling beautiful glossy magazines takes the longest: nature will spend about 5 years to destroy them.

Clothes and shoes

Remains of clothing made from cotton, linen, bamboo fiber or viscose will be completely recycled under the influence of moisture and microorganisms in 3 years. At the same time, wool products are less stable and will take no more than 1 year to decompose. But it takes about 50 years to recycle clothes made from synthetic materials and old shoes.

Wood and boards

Wood thrown into a landfill decomposes in about 3-10 years, but wooden products coated with paints and varnishes can rot for up to 13 years.

Chewing gum

Thrown to the ground chewing gum will disappear only after 30 years. Moreover, only territories with warm temperatures fit within this optimistic period. tropical climate, where decomposition processes last all year round.

Waste batteries

Batteries and accumulators for household appliances take about 100 years to decompose in nature.

Plastic bags

How quickly did they enter our daily life, making it more comfortable and easier. Meanwhile, the decomposition time of a plastic bag cannot be compared with its short service life: it will take from 30 to 200 years.

Plastic bottles

Another scourge of modern civilization. the main problem plastic recycling is that it is several times cheaper to produce a new batch of bottles than to recycle them. But plastic bottles take from 450 to 1000 years to decompose, depending on the climate and the composition of the plastic.

Aluminum cans

Aluminum is a cheap and accessible material, which is also used in the manufacture of disposable beverage containers. Unfortunately, aluminum cans will remain a part of the environment for a long time: it will take 80 to 500 years for them to disappear.

Iron cans

It will take about 10 years for used cans to completely decompose.

Rubber tires

Waste tires are an integral part of the life of any motorist. It takes nature up to 100 years to process this type of waste.

Dish sponges

This convenient household item is found in every home. But we pay too high a price for convenience: foam sponges take about 200 years to decompose.

Glass

Despite the fact that glass items are made from natural material, its decomposition period in nature can exceed 1000 years. At the same time, experts believe that glass does not completely decompose.

Russia is a country of contrasts.

Striving to bear the high status of a developed state, a center of world culture, we still have a bunch of landfills , chaotically scattered along highways, near large cities and small villages. Moreover, residents of remote settlements are completely put in a hopeless situation - they completely lack even the minimum infrastructure that allows them to quickly, easily and environmentally get rid of daily household waste . Hence the numerous illegal garbage dumps in fields, forests and river banks.

One of the bloggers, who regularly vacations in the countryside, decided to conduct a little research and find out which packaging decomposes the fastest. As you know, plastic bags, which appeared in our everyday life about 90 years ago, take at least 200-250 years to be disposed of.

Today, the industry offers several types of such products, the level of biodegradability of which may vary.

For the experiment we took:

• Rough wrapping paper grocery bag
• Polyethylene food bag
• Black plastic trash bag
• A trash bag marked biodegradable.

Each bag contained a piece of bread, a watermelon rind, a piece of cheese, a used tea bag, paper napkin. Having tied the bags, they buried them in the ground and left them for 2 months.

The result of the experiment showed that the paper bag decomposed first (not a trace remained of it), the second place was taken by a black garbage bag (its surface was completely covered with holes), and in third place was a simple plastic bag(its walls became thin), and in fourth place was one that showed no signs of decomposition.

It is unclear how to relate to such results. Indeed, according to manufacturers, the biodegradable bag is completely disposed of in the ground within several months. Perhaps not all manufacturers are conscientious about their business, passing off packaging made from conventional polymers as biodegradable.

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 problem in 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.

Details Published: January 29, 2016

Plastic degradation has become one of the the most pressing problems modernity, since the planet faces a very real danger of completely “drowning” in the mountains plastic bottles And plastic bags.

IN Pacific Ocean has already formed near Indonesia the whole continent from plastic bottles and other waste, exceeding in size the largest island - Greenland. And the production of plastic products and plastic containers is growing and growing - only over the last 10 years in Russia, its production volumes have increased 10 times.

Classification of additives that accelerate the decomposition of plastic

• Oxo-additives speed up the crushing of bags into small pieces, which are no longer so harmful to animals. 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, a certain air temperature, moisture and other activating factors. The decomposition period of polyethylene with such additives is accelerated 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, biopolymer is a plastic made from plant waste, such as corn stalks. This is the most harmless and quickly degradable version of polymers today.

How long does it take for different types of plastic to decompose without additives?

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

What other options are offered to solve the problem?

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