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In our world one the biggest environmental problems are the enormous quantities of waste that we generate. The economic activities themselves in each and every country and human consumption are the main causes. And if we add that, on many occasions, these waste products are not deposited in the right containers, the result is very high environmental risk.

We should know that ALL waste products are biodegradable and can be decomposed with natural chemical elements in reaction with the sun, water, bacteria, plants or animals. The main difference is time as these biological agents take time to produce.

Let’s look at some very interesting indicators that we should take into account:

 
+1000 years

GLASS BOTTLES in any format are very resistant objects and take more than 4000 years to degrade. Although they are fragile and simply by falling can break. But, for the natural components of the land it takes a huge effort to transform them. If they were made with sand or sodium/calcium carbonates they could be 100% recyclable.

PLASTIC CUPS take more than 1000 years to be transformed. The plastic becomes synthetic molecules; invisible but always there.

BATTERIES and their components are highly contaminating and do not degrade. The majority contain mercury, other have zinc, chrome, arsenic, lead or cadmium. They can start to separate after 50 years in the open air but they are devised to remain dangerous agents.
 

+100 years

THROW AWAY LIGHTERS made of steel and plastic take their time to become something else. Steel, exposed to open air, starts to get damaged and rust a bit after 10 years. In the same time scale plastic does not even lose its colour.

TERGOPOL PACKAGING that we find in most electronic articles are not biodegradable and the best that nature can do with its structure is to divide its components into minimum molecules.

PLASTIC BAGS as they are very light they can be transformed faster than bottles but nature usually has a very hard fight with this element and generally loses.

PLASTIC CORKS are made of polypropylene, the same material as straws and yogurt packs. They are easier to recycle than mineral water bottles (made of PVC, polyvinyl chloride) and those made of PET (Polyethylene terephthalate ).

PLASTIC BOTTLES are the most rebellious in transforming themselves. In the open air they lose their tonicity, they split and disperse. They last longer underground. The majority are made of PET, a material that is hard to gnaw through: micro-organisms do not have the mechanisms to attack them.
 

From 10 to 30 years

DRINK TINS take a minimum of 10 years to transform into an iron oxide state. In the open air a lot of rain and humidity is required to reach this stage.

An AEROSOL needs 30 years to degrade and therefore it is one of the most problematic waste products. Firstly, as it is an aerosol it is already a contaminating agent due to the CFC’s , and also because its metallic structure makes it resistant to natural degradation and the first step is therefore oxidation.

BOTTLE TOPS have a metallic alloy that would seem to make them a candidate for quick degradation, as they are not very thick. But it is not true. First the rust and then, bit by bit, the steel part loses resistance until it disperses.

A TETRA BRIK is not as toxic as we think, although it takes approximately 30 years to completely degrade. 75% of its structure is cellulose and 20% is pure, low density, polyethylene and 5% is aluminium which takes the longest to degrade.
 

From 1 to 5 years

PAPER made of cellulose does not cause any problems for nature to integrate its components. If it is on land and there is a rainy winter then it does not take long to degrade.

A CIGARETTE END could take two years to disappear. The filter is made of cellulose acetate and ground bacteria, used to fighting organic material, cannot find a way to attack it. If it falls in water the disintegration is faster, but more contaminating.

A CHEWING GUM once chewed becomes, due to oxygen, a hard material that starts cracking until it disappears, and nearly does not leave any traces.
 
And now that you know a bit more, Publiverd encourages you to recycle!