Biodegradable Material Facts and More


CONTENT
 

How long does it take various materials to decompose?


The time that it takes a particular material to decompose is affected by several factors aside from the composition of the material itself. The physical size and thickness of the object plays a part. Environmental factors such as the amount of moisture, light and oxygen that the material is exposed to affect the rate of decomposition as well. Given the variety of conditions that could exist there are no hard and fast numbers that can be applied. However, when comparing materials in a relative fashion some ballpark figures, based upon the materials’ molecular and chemical composition, can be estimated as follows:
 
  • Aluminum can: 200-500 years
  • Apple core: 2 months
  • Banana peel: 3-4 weeks
  • Batteries: 100 years
  • Cardboard: 1-2 months
  • Cigarette: 2-5 years
  • Cotton: 5 months
  • Diapers: 500-600 years
  • Glass bottles: 1,000,000 years (to unknown)
  • Leather shoes: 40-50 years
  • Milk carton: 5 years
  • Nylon clothes: 30-40 years
  • Orange peel: 5-6 months
  • Paper bag: 1-2 months
  • Plastic 6 pack ring: 450 years
  • Plastic bottles: 450 years
  • Rope: 3-4 months
  • Rubber boot: 50-80 years
  • Sugarcane: 60-90 days
  • Styrofoam: 1,000,000+ years (maybe never)
  • Tin can: 80-100 years
  • Wool sock: 1 year
 




 

What Is A Carbon Footprint?Carbon Footprint

A carbon footprint is a measurement of the total amount of greenhouse gases we individually produce, directly and indirectly, usually expressed in equivalent tons (or kg) of carbon dioxide (CO2). It is a measure of the impact our human activities have on the environment, in particular climate change. It relates to the fossil fuels we burn for heating, electricity, power production and transportation to support our day-to-day lives.

For instance: When you heat your house with oil, gas or coal, you generate CO2. Even if your home is heated with electricity, the generation of power to produce the electricity can produce CO2. When you drive your car to work, take a bus or fly on an airplane, the engines all burn fuel and produce CO2. The consumables and other products you buy typically create some CO2 during their production. Even organic farm produce such as fruits and vegetables add to the carbon footprint because the equipment used for planting and harvesting give off CO2 emissions.

CO2
A carbon footprint is made up of the primary footprint and the secondary footprint as follows:
 
The primary footprint is a measure of the direct emissions of CO2 over things we can control. These include burning fossil fuels or electricity use for domestic energy consumption and transportation.

The secondary footprint is a measure of the indirect emissions of CO2 produced by the manufacture of the things we buy. To put it simply, the more we buy the more we contribute to our carbon footprint.


Your carbon footprint is the sum of all carbon emissions of CO2 which are created by your activities over a given period of time, usually for one year. Most people are amazed at the amount of CO2 their daily life styles create. If you want to help stop global warming, the calculation and constant monitoring of your personal carbon footprint is essential.