Skip to content
Home > Recycling > Why recycle?

Why recycle?

I’ve come across a loads of people who just aren’t into recycling. You ask them why and they’ll have reasons ranging from, “there’s so much waste being produced that what I can do won’t even make a dent in it”, to “recycling is far more expensive than landfilling”. While this blog post is unlikely to change these people’s minds, it does make for some interesting contemplating.

How long does it take to decompose? …

Cotton rags
1-5 months

Paper
2-5 months

Rope
3-14 months

Orange peels
6 months

Wool socks
1 to 5 years

Cigarette butts
1 to 12 years

Plastic coated paper milk cartons
5 years

Leather shoes
25 to 40 years

Nylon fabric
30 to 40 years

Tin cans
50 to 100 years

Aluminium cans
80 to 100 years

Plastic 6-pack holder rings
450 years

Glass bottles
1 million years

Plastic bottles
Forever

Figures plucked from Tree Hugging Family, a really cool blog worth checking out.