The U.S. EPA estimates that 75% of our waste is recyclable. However, in many municipalities it is very common to only see garbage bins. If your town or city is one of them you can contact your local town hall and suggest they adopt a recycling program where recycling and waste bins are placed side by side, such as shown in the figure. When there is only waste bins, citizens have little choice but to toss any waste, even if it is recyclable in the garbage. These garbage bins will then be emptied and sent to a landfill, where the waste will sit and very slow decompose.From Penn State University, here is a list of items and how long they take to decomopose.
Paper - 2 to 4 weeks
Leaves - 1 to 3 months
Orange peel - 6 months
Milk Carton - 5 years
Pastic Bag - 10 to 20 years
Pastic Container - 50 to 80 years
Aluminum Can - 80 years
Tin Can - 100 years
Plastic Soda Bottle - 450 years
Glass Bottle - 500 years
Styrofoam - Never
Nice post! Thanks for sharing the list of items and their decomposition time. I also am very concerned about our environment's condition. I hope people will learn to start recycling in their own households and be aware of what they can do to preserve mother earth..^^
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