We on the FCC Green Team are always promoting composting, recycling, reducing consumption of goods, repairing, reusing, etc. But what if you don’t? What if you throw the item into the trash, and it goes to the landfill? For many items, we have no other choices. How long does it take to decompose?
- Paper towel – 2-4 weeks
- Banana peel – 3-4 weeks
- Paper bag – 1 month
- Newspaper – 1.5 months
- Apple core – 2 months
- Cardboard – 2 months
- Cotton glove – 3 months
- Orange peels – 6 months
- Plywood -1-3 years
- Wool sock – 1-5 years
- Milk cartons – 5 years
- Cigarette butts – 10-12 years
- Leather shoes – 25-40 years
- Tinned steel can – 50 years
- Foamed plastic cups – 50 years
- Rubber boot sole – 50-80 years
- Plastic containers – 50-80 years
- Aluminum can -200-500 years
- Disposable diapers – 550 years
- Monofilament fishing line – 600 years
- Plastic bags – 200-1000 years
Think about each item on the list. How can we make choices that can affect this picture?
Do you have Personal Green Choices to share with all of us? I will collect them for future segments. Contact Marilyn Flick.
