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You Won’t Believe How Long It Takes for These Popular Items to Decompose

You Won’t Believe How Long It Takes for These Popular Items to Decompose

Merriam-Webster defines “decompose” as “to separate into constituent parts or elements or into simpler compounds.” That happens to all living things after they pass on. But what about inanimate objects – the things we use every day? When do their components break down and drift off into the wind?

To determine how long it takes for 32 popular non-organic items and materials to decompose, 24/7 Tempo gleaned information from the websites Eco-Friendly Lifestyle and The Balance Small Business.

Paper waste and cardboard are the items that decompose the fastest among everyday things – two to six weeks for paper, two months for cardboard. Items such as aluminum foil, cans, plastic, glass, and disposable diapers stay around quite a while longer. (Here are 30 ways to be more environmentally friendly.)

Many things on our list take a century or longer to decompose. The rates of decomposition can vary greatly based on environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, and exposure to the elements. But these factors aside, it could take a tire a million years to break down – and aluminum foil is one of the substances that never decomposes.

No discussion of the decomposition (or lack of decomposition) of inorganic items would be complete without mentioning plastic. It has become such a litter problem that states such as Colorado, California, and New Jersey have banned single-use plastic bags. And discarded plastic six-pack holders are the bane of existence for sea creatures. The Plastic Free Turtles project operating in Uruguay, for instance, found that as many as 70% of the juvenile green turtles feeding in waters off of that South American nation have been ingesting plastic. (These are the countries that generate the most plastic waste.)

Source: JoZtar / iStock via Getty Images

Aluminum cans
> How long they take to decompose: 80 to 100 years

Source: KevinDyer / Getty Images

Aluminum foil
> How long it takes to decompose: Never

Source: SergeyKlopotov / iStock via Getty Images

Batteries
> How long they take to decompose: 100 years

Source: AKlion - Andrey Kryukov / Getty Images

Carton packaging
> How long it takes to decompose: 2 weeks to 4 weeks

Source: Samohin / iStock via Getty Images

Chewing gum
> How long it takes to decompose: Hundreds of years

Source: MmeEmil / E+ via Getty Images

Cigarettes
> How long they take to decompose: 18 months to 10 years

Source: perets / E+ via Getty Images

Cotton gloves
> How long they take to decompose: 3 months

Source: Laboko / Getty Images

Disposable diapers
> How long they take to decompose: 500 years

Source: Devonyu / Getty Images

Foam cups
> How long they take to decompose: 50 years

Source: nikamata / iStock via Getty Images

Glass bottles
> How long they take to decompose: 1 million years

Source: Bet_Noire / iStock via Getty Images

Ink cartridges
> How long they take to decompose: 450 to 1,000 years

Source: WDnet / iStock via Getty Images

Latex gloves
> How long they take to decompose: Several months to several years

Source: Andyworks / iStock via Getty Images

Nylon fishing nets
> How long they take to decompose: 40 years

Source: curtoicurto / iStock via Getty Images

Plastic bags
> How long they take to decompose: 10 to 1,000 years

Source: artisteer / iStock via Getty Images

Plastic bottles
> How long they take to decompose: 450 years

Source: Reimphoto / iStock via Getty Images

Plywood
> How long it takes to decompose: 1 to 3 years

Source: wildart / iStock via Getty Images

Polyester clothes
> How long they take to decompose: More than 100 years

Source: Florida Chuck / Getty Images

Polyurethane cushions
> How long they take to decompose: 1,000 years

Source: kyoshino / iStock via Getty Images

Rope
> How long it takes to decompose: 3 to 14 months

Source: Dmitry Belyaev / iStock via Getty Images

Rubber soles
> How long they take to decompose: 50 to 80 years

Source: Marvin Samuel Tolentino Pineda / iStock via Getty Images

Sanitary pads
> How long they take to decompose: More than 25 years

Source: bravo1954 / E+ via Getty Images

Shoes
> How long they take to decompose: 25 to 40 years

Source: Nadya So / Getty Images

Six-pack holders
> How long they take to decompose: 450 years

Source: wragg / E+ via Getty Images

Steel cans
> How long they take to decompose: 50 years

Source: allenran917 / Flickr

Straws
> How long they take to decompose: 200 years

Source: wingedwolf / iStock via Getty Images

Styrofoam
> How long it takes to decompose: Never

Source: forthefunofit / Flickr

T-shirts
> How long they take to decompose: 6 months

Source: etiennevoss / iStock via Getty Images

Tin cans
> How long they take to decompose: 50 years

Source: sx70 / iStock via Getty Images

Tires
> How long they take to decompose: 2,000 years

Source: Tim Boyle / Getty Images

Waxed milk cartons
> How long they take to decompose: 3 months

Source: CiydemImages / iStock via Getty Images

Wet wipes
> How long they take to decompose: 100 years

Source: CatLane / iStock via Getty Images

Ziploc bags
> How long they take to decompose: 20 years to 1,000 years

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