+MissJenn Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 (edited) The Life Span of Commonly Discarded Litter Startling Statistics taken from Pennsylvania DOT http://www.dot.state.pa.us/Internet/pdkids...istics?OpenForm Glass Bottle ------- Approximately 1 Million Years Plastic 6-Pack Collar ------- 450 Years Aluminum Can ------- 200 – 500 Years Plastic Jug ------- 70 Years Rubber Boot Sole ------- 50 – 80 Years Steel Cans ------- 50 Years Leather ------- Up To 50 Years Nylon Fabric ------- 30 – 40 Years Plastic Film Canister ------- 20 – 30 Years Painted Wooden Stake ------- 13 Years Degradable Plastic Bag ------- 10 – 20 Years Disposable Diapers ------- 10 – 20 Years Wool Clothing ------- One – Five Years Cigarette Butt ------- One – Five Years Cotton Rag ------- One – Five Months Orange Peel/Banana Peel ------- Two – Five Weeks Piece Of Paper ------- Two – Four Weeks Traffic Tickets ------- Two – Four Weeks Rolled Newspaper ------- Two – Six Weeks Candy Wrapper ------- One – Three Months Rope ------- Three – 14 Months Edited January 31, 2007 by MissJenn Quote Link to comment
+MissJenn Posted January 31, 2007 Author Share Posted January 31, 2007 I am guessing these numbers refer to the average lifespan of items simply left "out there," and not in a landfill or any kind of controlled environment. Egads! Quote Link to comment
+TotemLake Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 I am guessing these numbers refer to the average lifespan of items simply left "out there," and not in a landfill or any kind of controlled environment. Egads! You'll notice styrofoam wasn't included. That stuff is almost as bad as nuclear waste in longevity. Quote Link to comment
+ibycus Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 Cigarette Butt ------- One – Five Years That one deserves a few special emphasis points.... I know a number of people who claim that they degrade really quickly (also, according to some sites, this number is actually considerably higher. http://www.cigarettelitter.org/index.asp?P...ame=Smokers#bio claims as many as 12 years, or mentions (although does not cite) sources which say that they *never* fully decompose. Quote Link to comment
+Renegade Knight Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 I am guessing these numbers refer to the average lifespan of items simply left "out there," and not in a landfill or any kind of controlled environment. Egads! Since our caches are made out of many of the same materials, You would think our caches would hold up better than they do! Quote Link to comment
+MissJenn Posted January 31, 2007 Author Share Posted January 31, 2007 And from Minnesota, we also have a very similar page: http://www.dot.state.mn.us/adopt/facts.html They site their source as California Waste Management Bulletin. Quote Link to comment
+mudsneaker Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 (edited) oh wow...I was researching the lifespan of styrofoam (have yet to find a number still) and found this little tid-bit. This one has me re evaluating my entire outlook of what I eat and drink from. This is copied from a Witness Statement regarding McDonalds styrofoam packaging. Of course McD has changed to other materials, but places like Teriaki joints still use styrofoam for the take out food. Issues-surrounding polystyrene foam food packaging use EPA National Human Adipose Tissue Survey for 1986 identified styrene residues in 100% of all samples of human fat tissue taken in 1982 in the U.S.. Styrene is a precursor to polystyrene plastic and is a contaminant in all polystyrene foam packages. Styrene is fat soluble and potentially can be picked up in hamburger fat in a foam food package and transferred to the food. Studies published by the Foundation for Advancements in Science and Education determined that styrofoam drinking leach stryofoam into the liquids they contain. The cups apparently lose weight during the time they are at use. The theory being that different materials cause some of the foam to dissolve into the liquid in the vessel. The studies showed that tea with lemon produced the most marked change in the weight of the foam cup. still looking for the lifespan of the stuff... edit: I found numbers from 500 to 20,000 years. one quote I saw from this.... Although Styrofoam breaks into pieces easily, it will take 500 years for one cup to dissolve. My unanswered question is: dissolve into what? Edited January 31, 2007 by mudsneaker Quote Link to comment
+TotemLake Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 oh wow...I was researching the lifespan of styrofoam (have yet to find a number still) and found this little tid-bit. This one has me re evaluating my entire outlook of what I eat and drink from. This is copied from a Witness Statement regarding McDonalds styrofoam packaging. Of course McD has changed to other materials, but places like Teriaki joints still use styrofoam for the take out food. Issues-surrounding polystyrene foam food packaging use EPA National Human Adipose Tissue Survey for 1986 identified styrene residues in 100% of all samples of human fat tissue taken in 1982 in the U.S.. Styrene is a precursor to polystyrene plastic and is a contaminant in all polystyrene foam packages. Styrene is fat soluble and potentially can be picked up in hamburger fat in a foam food package and transferred to the food. Studies published by the Foundation for Advancements in Science and Education determined that styrofoam drinking leach stryofoam into the liquids they contain. The cups apparently lose weight during the time they are at use. The theory being that different materials cause some of the foam to dissolve into the liquid in the vessel. The studies showed that tea with lemon produced the most marked change in the weight of the foam cup. still looking for the lifespan of the stuff... edit: I found numbers from 500 to 20,000 years. one quote I saw from this.... Although Styrofoam breaks into pieces easily, it will take 500 years for one cup to dissolve. My unanswered question is: dissolve into what? The difference in years all depends on whether the styro was made to be biodegradable or not, and to what extent. Usually, biodegradability means some corn starch was added to it to help the entire unit breakdown a little quicker. Of course, this depends on the package to stay dry. Pure styrene can only adequately breakdown when acetone is applied to it. What do you do with the liquid toxic waste now? When the acetone evaporates, you're still left with this goo that won't go away. Quote Link to comment
+bilbad Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 of course most plastic will degrade faster in direct sunlight then say under a bush and non filtered cigs would disappear way before a normal filtered one... I smoke but I think "butts" really make a place look bad. At the least carry them out in your pocket and dispose of properly later. Quote Link to comment
+emurock Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 The Life Span of Commonly Discarded Litter Startling Statistics Glass Bottle ------- Approximately 1 Million Years Plastic 6-Pack Collar ------- 450 Years Aluminum Can ------- 200 – 500 Years Plastic Jug ------- 70 Years Rubber Boot Sole ------- 50 – 80 Years Steel Cans ------- 50 Years Leather ------- Up To 50 Years Nylon Fabric ------- 30 – 40 Years Plastic Film Canister ------- 20 – 30 Years Painted Wooden Stake ------- 13 Years Degradable Plastic Bag ------- 10 – 20 Years Disposable Diapers ------- 10 – 20 Years Wool Clothing ------- One – Five Years Cigarette Butt ------- One – Five Years Cotton Rag ------- One – Five Months Orange Peel/Banana Peel ------- Two – Five Weeks Piece Of Paper ------- Two – Four Weeks Traffic Tickets ------- Two – Four Weeks Rolled Newspaper ------- Two – Six Weeks Candy Wrapper ------- One – Three Months Rope ------- Three – 14 Months Wow. Quote Link to comment
BRTango Posted February 11, 2007 Share Posted February 11, 2007 The Life Span of Commonly Discarded Litter Startling Statistics Glass Bottle ------- Approximately 1 Million Years Plastic 6-Pack Collar ------- 450 Years Aluminum Can ------- 200 – 500 Years Plastic Jug ------- 70 Years Rubber Boot Sole ------- 50 – 80 Years Steel Cans ------- 50 Years Leather ------- Up To 50 Years Nylon Fabric ------- 30 – 40 Years Plastic Film Canister ------- 20 – 30 Years Painted Wooden Stake ------- 13 Years Degradable Plastic Bag ------- 10 – 20 Years Disposable Diapers ------- 10 – 20 Years Wool Clothing ------- One – Five Years Cigarette Butt ------- One – Five Years Cotton Rag ------- One – Five Months Orange Peel/Banana Peel ------- Two – Five Weeks Piece Of Paper ------- Two – Four Weeks Traffic Tickets ------- Two – Four Weeks Rolled Newspaper ------- Two – Six Weeks Candy Wrapper ------- One – Three Months Rope ------- Three – 14 Months Wow. What about the bags that snack chips come in? Anyone know how long those last? Quote Link to comment
+Muddy Chris Posted February 11, 2007 Share Posted February 11, 2007 I smoke but I think "butts" really make a place look bad. At the least carry them out in your pocket and dispose of properly later. Yea!!! The world needs more responsible smokers! Thank you for being one! Chris Quote Link to comment
leswon Posted April 7, 2007 Share Posted April 7, 2007 How about no smokers? Then there would be no cigarrette trash and we all might live a bit longer Quote Link to comment
Love Posted October 17, 2007 Share Posted October 17, 2007 Wow, those stats are impressive. Too bad I can't have the lifespan of a glass bottle! Anyway, all the more reason to actively cache in trash out! Quote Link to comment
+Lotho Posted October 18, 2007 Share Posted October 18, 2007 Nice to see our micros have the potential to be in the wild for 30 years :D another blow for micro haters! Quote Link to comment
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