How Many Years Do Littered Glass, Plastic & Aluminum Contaners Last?
What happens to all the trash that leaves our houses every week? Most of what is discarded from a common household ends up in a landfill, an area where refuse is mixed with soil and microscopic organisms, in the hope that the trash will be broken down into a form that will someday add nutrients back to the soil of the Earth. Unfortunately, much of what is discarded can take years or even decades to decompose at all. Glass, aluminum, and plastics are products that do not readily decompose, but can be recycled for further use.
Glass
New glass is made from silicon dioxide, a very special form of sand. Glass containers used for carbonated drinks can be sterilized and re-used over and over again. Recycled glass can be crushed and made into "cullett" which is mixed with silicon dioxide to make more glass. Despite these potential uses for glass, millions of pounds of it end up in landfills every year. Unfortunately, glass is so sturdy, that no one really knows how long it may take to decompose. if it decomposes at all.
Aluminum
Aluminum cans are popular container for carbonated beverages such as soft drinks and beer. Aluminum for these cans is made from bauxite ore in a process which requires direct electrical current to separate the materials for the final product. Aluminum cans can be recycled and remade into new aluminum cans, a process longer than the sterilization that glass requires, but one which still saves a significant amount of energy. An aluminum can which is left to decompose will last from two hundred to four hundred years.
Plastics
Plastics are so versatile that you will find them everywhere from car parts to grocery bags to long underwear! Most plastics are petroleum products, and depending on the process used to create them, they can be flexible, like a bag for your tomatoes in the produce department, or very rigid, like the PVC piping in many of our homes, schools, and offices. When plastics are recycled, they are ground into pellets and shipped to facilities that melt them down and reuse them. A hard plastic container can take twenty to thirty years to decompose. On the other hand, that plastic ring that holds your six-pack of soda together can last for up to four hundred fifty years.
Recycled Products
Recycled glass is used to make more glass, fiberglass, or to make decorative tiles or beads. Recycled aluminum is used to make more aluminum. The market for recycled aluminum that is growing the most rapidly is the automotive industry. Aluminum is much lighter than steel, and contributes to the manufacture of more fuel-efficient cars. Recycled plastics are used to make playground equipment, decking materials, and carpet fiber.
Recycling Tips
Check with your local municipalities for recycling guidelines. Most communities that recycle will take paper, cardboard, metals, glass, and at least some plastics. Recyclable plastics usually have a number imprinted on them, which indicates what they are made of. Depending on nearby reclamation facilities, you may be able to recycle all plastics, or only certain types.
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