Apr 23, 2008
How Long Does Litter Take To Disintegrate?
Since yesterday was Earth Day and I figure a lot of trash got picked up around the world (at least I hope!), and I don’t have a lot of time to write (Mom has been in town visiting, flying home today), here are some facts about the litter that we see laying on the side of the road and riverbanks most of us don’t think too much about. From American Rivers:
Percentages and Types of Litter Found Outdoors:
- Fast food waste (33%)
- Paper (29%)
- Aluminum (28%)
- Glass (6%)
- Plastic (2%)
- Other (2%)
How Long Litter Lasts In The Wild:
- Orange peel (2-5 weeks)
- Paper bag (1 month)
- Cigarette butt (up to 5 years)
- Leather shoe (45 years)
- Plastic bottle (430 years)
- Aluminum can (200-500 years)
- Disposable diaper (550 years)
- Glass bottle (Approx. 1 million years)
- Styrofoam container (1 million years)
Food for thought, no?
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4 Comments, Comment or Ping
MamaBird/SurelyYouNest
Love this post! Exactly the kind of stats I love to read. Appreciatively…MB
Apr 23rd, 2008
Tencel
I actually would thought the leather shoe would have taken longer - interesting.
Apr 23rd, 2008
CindyW
Number 1 trash - fast food waste. Surprising yet totally makes sense. Would be interesting to have a contest amongst fast food restaurants. Do McD eaters litter more or Carl’s Jr eaters? An interesting cultural study.
Apr 23rd, 2008
mickey
I think Cindy’s on to something there.
“The road to the apocalypse is paved with disposable food containers.”
-Source unknown or forgotten
Apr 24th, 2008
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