I’ve come across a loads of people who just aren’t into recycling. You ask them why and they’ll have reasons ranging from, “there’s so much waste being produced that what I can do won’t even make a dent in it”, to “recycling is far more expensive than landfilling”. While this blog post is unlikely to change these people’s minds, it does make for some interesting contemplating.
How long does it take to decompose? …
Cotton rags
1-5 months
Paper
2-5 months
Rope
3-14 months
Orange peels
6 months
Wool socks
1 to 5 years
Cigarette butts
1 to 12 years
Plastic coated paper milk cartons
5 years
Leather shoes
25 to 40 years
Nylon fabric
30 to 40 years
Tin cans
50 to 100 years
Aluminium cans
80 to 100 years
Plastic 6-pack holder rings
450 years
Glass bottles
1 million years
Plastic bottles
Forever
Figures plucked from Tree Hugging Family, a really cool blog worth checking out.