The Chic Ecologist

How Long Does it Take to Biodegrade?

I talk a lot about biodegradable items, biodegradable soaps, and even biodegradable diaper services, but what does ‘biodegrade’ even mean?

In our effort to keep from burying ourselves in trash and waste since we are still very much a ‘disposable’ society, how can we reduce our impacts (other than the obvious re-use of materials?) By making everything biodegradable! Bio-degradation happens to just about everything on the planet to some degree, so lets put things into context, shall we? I’ve collected information on many of the most commonly used items, including so called biodegradable items to really put things in perspective.

An Apple Core
In a landfill: Never*
In a backyard compost: 2 weeks
In an industrial composter: days
In the ocean: 8 weeks

Your Starbucks Coffee Paper Cup
In a landfill: Never*
In a backyard compost: One Month
In an industrial composter:
In the ocean: 6 Weeks

A Biodegradable Bio-Plastic Cup
In a landfill: Never*
In a backyard compost: Unknown
In an industrial composter: Less than 3 months
In the ocean: Unknown

A Regular Plastic Cup
In a landfill: Never*
In a backyard compost: Unknown
In an industrial composter: Unknown
In the ocean: Turns into trash island for 450 years

A Styrofoam Container
In a landfill: Never*
In a backyard compost: Unknown
In an industrial composter: Unknown
In the ocean: 50 years

Biodegradable Diaper
In a landfill: Never*
In a backyard compost: 6 months
In an industrial composter: Less than 3 months
In the ocean: 1 year

There is now a certification process for products to be able to claim that they are biodegradable. The ASTM states that compostable plastics (ASTM D6400) and compostable packaging (ASTM D6868) be able to fully degrade within 180 days, however, most testing is done using industrial composters which does not mimic real world composting or disposal and certainly not landfills. Of course backyard composting times can vary with moisture control, rotating, shredding, and the introduction of organisms so these times can vary.

*You are probably wondering why the bio-degradation timeline for landfills is always ‘Never’, this is because that is the way landfills are designed. Contrary to popular believe, landfills are built to prevent items from biodegrading to keep from contaminating groundwater, releasing methane gas, and causing unstable soil conditions. In fact they are built in a way that promotes the mummification of our trash much like the Egyptians preserved their pharaohs. While one should ‘never say never’, in this case, lets just say it will last a much longer time than you would imagine, or want.

References:
ocean bio-degradation- Irish Sea Fisheries Board
industrial bio-degradation and composting- EPA and Wikipedia

Related posts:

1. Eco Baby Care – Earth Baby Compostable Diaper Service
2. Sun Chips Compostable Bag
3. Shoes that Biodegrade, even in a Landfill?
4. Seven Great Biodegradable Items You Should Know About
5. Verterra Sustainable Disposable Dinnerware Plates

Tags: biodegradable, eco footprint, environmental impact, sustainable

8 Comments to How Long Does it Take to Biodegrade?

1. 

   Biodegradation is as you mentioned an extremely important aspect in reducing waste pollution. I would like to add that many of the items you mentioned are going to end up in a landfill. Products made from PLA (Plant starch plastics) for proper disposal, must be processed in a commercial composting facility. They will not compost in a back yard composter. The problem is that there aren’t that many commercial composting sites and many of them don’t want PLA plastics. The end result is that PLA is going to end up in a landfill where it will languish right along with traditional plastics. There are better alternatives, biodegradable plastic that biodegrades in the anaerobic or aerobic environment of a landfill and can be recycled. PLA is not going to be a popular recyclers as PLA plastic cannot be mixed in with other plastic during the recycling process. There are no easy answers but I believe that producers of products must be held accountable for the products/packaging they produce. All products must be designed to be cradle to cradle. A product must be designed to be used, reused, recycled, and when the life of the product is over, the resources used to make that product can be reclaimed.
   Max
   http://www.ensobottles.com
Max on October 22nd, 2009
2. 

   Nice post! This reminded me of a project I heard about a few years back, the Tuscon Garbage Project by Dr. Bill Rathje, now at Stanford. He has been excavating landfills in Tuscon and other cities to gather data since the ’70s. It started out as more of a sociology experiment, but has since gained relevance in conservation circles as well. For instance, Rathje found that the #1 item by volume in landfills was paper… like newsprint and copier paper. Close to 40 years of data hold a wealth of information, much of it counterintuitive. An example cited by a TreeHugger blog back in 2005 is that hazardous waste collection days actually increase the amount of hazardous materials being dumped into landfills due to raising awareness about dangerous substances in homes. I haven’t been able to find any recent articles or updates on the project, so I don’t know if it’s still going on, but I would love to see a post about it if you find anything, especially if they are starting to uncover these new biodegradable containers.
Cam on October 23rd, 2009

3. [...] but these picnic plates are both disposable and truly sustainable. Best when composted (as things don’t biodegrade in a landfill) to be truly sustainable cradle to cradle compliant, these sturdy plates are as much at home on [...]
Verterra Sustainable Biodegradable Plates and Bowls | The Chic Ecologist on October 26th, 2009
4. 

   This was very insightful and helpful. Thanks for posting.
SLY on October 26th, 2009
5. 

   Good stuff. I never knew just how long things took to biodegrade. I think you should try and expand this list a bit.
Curtis on October 26th, 2009

6. [...] was shocked, just as you might be after my last article on how long things take to biodegrade. It seems to be biodegrade month here on The Chic Ecologist, so I am very happy to be reporting on [...]
Simple Bio-D Biodegradable Shoes | The Chic Ecologist on November 3rd, 2009

7. [...] bag for PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay Divison, the makers of SunChips. As with many claims of length of time to biodegrade, it is usually very dependent on the environment it is placed in. This fully biodegradable bag is [...]
Sun Chips Compostable Bag | The Chic Ecologist on February 17th, 2010

8. [...] they do not degrade in a landfill, but then again, nothing does (see my recent article on how long it takes to biodegrade). While they don’t degrade fast enough for a backyard compost pile, they will begin to [...]
Oxodegradable Plastic Bags | The Chic Ecologist on February 22nd, 2010

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