Although it is derived from petroleum, which is processed from naturally occurring crude oil, plastic does not occur in nature. ![]() Why is Plastic So Difficult to Degrade Anyway? Here’s are the estimated decomposition timelines for common plastic waste products: Material In contrast, plastic water bottles made with polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a common type of plastic, are estimated to take approximately 450 years to fully break down. This process is called photodegradation, and it’s why landfills often expose plastic waste to the sun to accelerate the breakdown process.įor example, single-use plastic grocery bags take about two decades to break down. Like our skin, plastics absorb ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun, which breaks down the molecules. Additionally, how fast a plastic breaks down depends on sunlight exposure. Plastics can take anywhere from 20 to 500 years to decompose, depending on the material and structure. How Long Does It Take for Plastic to Decompose? And it keeps piling up in the strangest of ways, like the Great Pacific garbage patch just floating in the middle of the ocean. Plastic has only been in circulation since 1907, and experts estimate that some plastics can last hundreds of years before they finally break down. The truth is we really don’t know how long plastic lasts. It’s incredibly useful, but it’s bad in terms of the waste created. Plastic is everywhere, and by design, it’s made to last decades, if not hundreds of years. Namely, what do we do with it and where does it go once we’re finished using it? Every toothbrush, drinking straw, Styrofoam clamshell and pen you’ve ever used is still on this earth - either in its original form, recycled into another product or slowly breaking down into tiny pieces called microplastics. It has revolutionized the way we live for the better, but it also presents us with a big problem.
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