How long will it take for various bags to degrade

[China Packaging Network News] You may think that these garbage must have broken the record of the length of time the garbage existed, but this is not the case. Scientists point out that plastic bags and plastic bottles can still be degraded after hundreds of years, thousands of years, and even millions of years.

This is not only the case of man-made objects. Even banana skins can last for more than a month, and orange peels may take two years to fully decompose.

A month or so

Paper towels, paper packaging, newspapers, etc. The rate of degradation of these items depends to a large extent on their degradation mode. For example, paper towels that are buried in soil have a much longer decomposition time than paper towels that are exposed to the air.

Six weeks

Cereals packaging boxes, paper bags, banana peels and so on. In addition, if the weather is cold, the degradation time of the banana peel may be even longer.

The role of the skin is to protect the internal flesh, so the skin is rich in cellulose, which is the main component of cellophane packaging.

Environmentalists warned that people's discarded skin has caused serious pollution in Ben Nevis, Scotland, because it takes months for the waste to completely degrade. Although peels are natural products, this does not mean that they are not garbage.

Two to three months

Waxed milk and fruit juice cartons, cardboard, etc. The rate of degradation of these items depends on the thickness of the paperboard. Gardening enthusiasts should remember that cardboard can be used to make compost, so there is no need to lose them.

75 to 80 years

Potato chips bags. In fact, the potato chips recently found in the Dean Forest are not the "oldest". In 2012, Neil Phillips discovered a "Golden Miracle" potato chips bag on the beach in Devon. This bag was produced in 1967 and looks like it was just thrown away last week. Many food packaging bags are made of "imitation metal" plastic film. Compared with the food contained in the bag, these bags are really terribly long.

100 years

Six-claw plastic ring care - they can exist for 450 years. These settings are extremely harmful to animals because they may get stuck in the animal's throat, causing the animal to choke or cut off the animal's limbs.

200 years or so

Aluminum beverage cans. These items can actually exist for half a century. They are also very dangerous for small animals because small animals may crawl in and get stuck inside.

The recycling of aluminum is undoubtedly a better practice. In this way, we can use these resources continuously and at a much lower cost than producing new aluminum products.

The energy needed to produce a new aluminum can can make 20 recycled aluminum cans. And, the energy saved by an aluminum can alone can provide 3 hours of electricity for a TV.

500 years

plastic bottle. In fact, these petrochemicals may never be biodegraded, and the chemicals they contain remain intact in the soil.

Many plastic bottles are made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and have a very long degradation time. Therefore, PET products must be recycled. More and more PET plastic bottles are recycled and made into synthetic carpet fibers.

One to two million years

Glass jars and glass bottles. These items may remain forever because we can see that the glass formed in magma hundreds of years ago still exists today.

Glass is mainly made of silicon, which is one of the most stable and durable minerals on earth.

In addition, apart from what looks unpleasant, the biggest problem with glass is that it breaks easily. If a creature tries to swallow or eat the food or drink left on the glass, it may suffer serious injuries.