Recycle or Landfill
Why recycle you ask? Well, maybe how long somthing takes to decompose in a landfill is answer enough. The Tree Hugging Family posted some figures the other day that really make you think and will hopefully inspire you to take some action to go green.
How long will it take to decompose…
Cotton rags = 1 to 5 months
Paper = 2 to 5 months
Rope = 3 to 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
Aluminum cans = 80 to 100 years
Plastic 6-pack holder rings = 450 years
Glass bottles = 1 million years
Plastic bottles = Forever
Also, to learn more about how scientists date the decomposition process read Will My Plastic Bag Still Be Here in 2507. Super awesome article!
Share This
November 8th, 2007 at 8:37 am
We’re a totally green family, all the way! My wife & I are absolutley committed to not wasting one sheet of paper unless it can be recycled. We constantly dig through our own household trash to make sure we filter out anything that can be recycled or reused. Having the Chesapeake Bay literally in our back yard, we can see the harmful effects that we all contributed too over the decades, on our natural resources. But it doesn’t have to stay that way, and if each of us did a very small part, like buying green-friendly home products, to reduce the harmfuls chemicals that seep into the ground water and eventually into the Bay & Oceans, not only will out homes be healthier but the entire plant too.
April 4th, 2008 at 12:17 pm
[…] if you recycle each container, that still a lot of waste! Keep those plastic milk jugs out of the landfill by […]
May 29th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
[…] soup? What about all those cans? Keep those tin cans out of the landfill by […]
June 17th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
[…] Not all plastics are the same. That’s why there’s a number code on the bottom for recycling. […]
June 20th, 2008 at 10:30 am
[…] lots of glass jars in your recycle bin or trash can. I like to keep my glass containers out of the landfill by […]
August 16th, 2008 at 10:18 am
[…] time you buy a new pair of shoes, think twice and get creative before throwing out that perfectly good shoe box. Share […]