How long does it take for the trash we throw out to decompose? Our descendants will be “grateful” to us: how long does it take for different types of garbage to decompose? How long does it take for plastic to be recycled?

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.

It is not for nothing that it is customary in the world to sort garbage waste that residents throw away, and in some of them you can get a fine for incorrect sorting. Why were such laws passed? developed countries peace? The reason is simple: many types of waste take a very long time to decompose, or during decomposition they cause irreparable harm to the environment around them, which is why they are destroyed or processed in a special way. We present to you the decomposition times different types household waste.

1. Animal droppings - decomposition period 10-15 days

The least harmful garbage that can be seen on the streets of small towns and villages, however, it causes a lot of trouble for residents.

2. Food waste - decomposition period 30 days

Potato peelings, meat trimmings and everything that remains edible after cooking can be classified as this species garbage. Not that dangerous yet.

3. Newsprint - decomposition period 1-4 months

Before you throw the newspaper on the road, think about the fact that for another 4 whole months the residents of your yard will enjoy the paper trampled into the dirt.

4. Leaves, seeds, twigs - decomposition period 3-4 months

If the parks weren't cleaned up natural waste utilities, then soon people would be walking through mountains of branches and leaves.

5. Cardboard boxes - decomposition period 3 months

It is completely harmless waste if you throw it in trash cans.

6. Office paper - decomposition period 2 years

Yes, just imagine. It's all about composition and density: paper is made specifically so that documents printed on it can be stored for a long time, which, unfortunately, does not ignore the period of its decomposition.

7. Boards - decomposition period 10 years

Ordinary boards that are used on construction sites. Naturally, if they are not subject to any processing (for example, impregnation with fuel oil).

8. Steel cans - decomposition period 10 years

Like boards, cans of stewed meat or condensed milk will rot in the ground for another 10 years after you throw them under a tree in the forest.

9. Shoes - decomposition period 10 years

Everything here naturally depends on the composition of the shoe and the degree of its wear, however, on average, shoes made of leatherette will begin to decompose within a tenth of a century.

10. Fragments of brick and concrete - decomposition period is 100 years

Specifically, the garbage that every development company likes to bury under the playground in the courtyard of the house. True, they do this quite often. Maybe this is justified: since the “Stalin” ones have already been standing for 80 years.

11. Car batteries - decomposition period 100 years

This kind of waste is naturally more profitable to recycle. After all, for 1 used battery (20-25 kg) you can earn about 500 rubles.

12. Foil - decomposition period more than 100 years

True, despite the fact that the thickness of the iron leaf is less than 0.5 mm, it is very strongly compressed. So don't throw away your packaging. meat products on hikes.

13. Electric batteries - decomposition period 110 years

Here, not only the decomposition period plays a role, but also the harm environment, which the lithium battery causes when it oxidizes. Quite a lot charitable organizations, fighting for the cleanliness of the planet, offer to save batteries so that they will later drive up and take them from you.

14. Rubber tires - decomposition period 120-140 years

Rubber is one of the most resistant materials. Fortunately, when replacing tires at a service station, most drivers leave their old ones as a gift, or for a nominal cost there. And smart service holders hand it over for recycling later.

15. Plastic bottles - decomposition period 180-200 years

Plastic is also highly dangerous and toxic, not to mention it's not exactly cute to look at roadsides littered with empty plastic Coca-Cola bottles.

16. Aluminum cans - decomposition period 500 years

Almost the most dangerous garbage. It takes a long time to decompose, releases harmful substances during oxidation, and predominates on our planet.

17. Glass - decomposition period is more than 1000 years

No one knows how much of it is already packed in our holiday destinations. Just think: a millennium! At least another 12-15 generations will enjoy our fragments.

Friends, maybe let's start saving nature?

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 it will begin to decompose in a landfill. But, firstly, not everywhere garbage is removed in a timely manner, and secondly, some garbage can take thousands of years to decompose.

How long does it take for garbage to decompose?

Scientists have already proven that plastic bottles and bags can last hundreds, thousands and even millions of years without decomposing.
Here's a list of the things we throw away and how long it takes for that trash to decompose.

Paper and food waste

2 weeks
Apple cores and other fruit remains.

Even though it takes a relatively 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 for these items to decompose can vary greatly, as it depends on how you disposed of this type of waste.

6 weeks
Cereal boxes, paper bags, banana peels.

Banana peels may take longer to decompose if the weather is cooler. Since the peel is designed to preserve the freshness of the fruit, it contains a lot of cellulose - the same material that cellophane bags are made from.

Some conservationists warn that the peels of some fruits, including banana peels, can take several months to decompose. Even if a 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 cardboard primarily depends on its thickness. It is worth noting that some cartons may contain chemical materials, which significantly slow down the decomposition process.

6 months
Cotton clothes and paper books.

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

1 year
Woolen clothes (sweaters, socks).

Wool - natural product and can degrade relatively quickly. Moreover, when wool decomposes, it releases elements beneficial to the soil, such as keratins. This product cannot be completely considered garbage, as it does not cause long-term harm to the environment.

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

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

Plastic trash

Up to 20 years
Plastic bags. But research shows 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.
Yet most plastic bags are made from high-density polyethylene. Microorganisms in the soil do not perceive the chemicals that make up the bag as food, and therefore they do not participate in its decomposition.

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

Even though diapers are quite convenient, they are also quite toxic, even if you haven't used them yet. They are treated 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, foam glasses, leather.

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

Decomposition of polyethylene

From 70 to 80 years
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 take quite a long time to decompose. For example, one US resident found an empty bag of chips on a beach in Devon, dated 1967, but the bag itself looked like it had been thrown away last week.

About 100 years
Products made of polyethylene.

Of course, decomposition time depends on the density and structure of the product. For example, regular plastic bags from the store can take about 100 years to decompose.
Also in the category of things that can decompose for more than a century include plastic bottles and various plastic containers and bowls.
It is worth noting that small polyethylene parts can pose a choking hazard to animals.

Aluminum decomposition

About 200 years
Aluminum cans (for 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 take 200 years to decompose, 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.
These 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

Russia is a country of contrasts.

Striving to bear the high status of a developed state, a center of world culture, we still have many 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.

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 base 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 to this day. 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.”