We've all heard that plastic doesn't biodegrade, but what does that mean? Biodegradable means something can be broken down by living organisms. Some types of plastic do biodegrade, but they take years or even decades to break down. The most common type of plastic is recyclable and it takes hundreds of years to decompose in landfills and oceans.
Plastic is a long-lasting material that can take hundreds of years to decompose. It's made from petrochemicals, which don't biodegrade. This means that when you throw plastic away in your recycling bin or trash can, it doesn't magically turn into something new or disappear--it just sits there for centuries until someone decides to clean it up!
Plastic is made from natural materials like wood and paper, but these materials take thousands of years for them to decompose on their own (and sometimes they never do).
There are five major types of plastic: polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyethylene terephthalate and polyvinyl chloride.
All these materials can be recycled. However, you should be aware that not all recyclers accept all types of plastic.
When you recycle your waste plastic it will be reprocessed into new products such as park benches or fences or even other forms of packaging material like bottles or bags (this is called 'down-cycling'). This means that even though the original product has been reused it won't last forever because eventually it will break down into smaller pieces which will then have to be recycled again!
Most types of plastic are made from petrochemicals and don't biodegrade. These include:
Plastic products that contain a combination of these materials may also be considered nonbiodegradable because they're not 100% one type of plastic or another; instead they're mixtures with varying properties depending on how much each component contributes toward overall composition.
All natural materials biodegrade, but it takes thousands of years for wood or paper to decompose. Plastic doesn't biodegrade quickly like other natural products do. It's made from petrochemicals and takes hundreds of years to break down into smaller pieces that can be reused as fertilizer or fuel source for plants.
It's a common misconception that all plastic will biodegrade in a matter of years, but this is not the case. There are five major types of plastics: polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The last two are often referred to as 'recycled' because they can be melted down and remade into new products. However, they aren't actually recycled--they're downcycled--and while they do break down after hundreds or thousands of years in landfills or the ocean, it's not an immediate process by any means.
Biodegradation is the breakdown of materials by bacteria and other microorganisms. It's a natural process that happens all the time, but it's also very important in the environment because it helps to keep things clean by breaking down organic matter into carbon dioxide and water.
Biodegradation can be defined as the chemical process during which microorganisms break down organic matter into carbon dioxide and water through respiration or fermentation (as opposed to decomposition). Biodegradable materials are those that can be broken down completely into their original components by bacteria or other living organisms without causing harm to humans or animals when they're disposed of properly--in other words, when they don't end up in landfills!
Recycling is a great way to reduce the amount of waste you produce, but it's not the only way to do so. Some plastics are biodegradable and can be broken down by microorganisms in the soil or water. Other types of plastic will break down into smaller pieces but don't biodegrade; they'll just linger there until they start accumulating again.
Some plastics aren't even made from raw materials that would naturally decompose on their own--they're made from recycled materials! This means that if you throw away a plastic bottle or bag with other recyclables, it could get mixed up with other items in your recycling bin and end up being sent back out into circulation as new packaging material rather than being composted or turned into energy at a waste plant (or both).
Plastic is made of polymers, which are long chains of molecules. The process of breaking down these chains into smaller pieces is called degradation. Biodegradation means that something can be broken down by microorganisms or other living organisms. However, unlike paper or wood--which are biodegradable--plastic does not biodegrade because it's made up of polymers that aren't biodegradable themselves. Instead, plastic waste can be broken down into smaller pieces by microorganisms that live in the environment (like bacteria).
We hope that this article has helped you understand what plastic is and how it's made. We also discussed the different types of plastic and how long it takes for them to decompose. We know that this information can be confusing at times, but we think that it's important for everyone to understand their impact on our environment so they can make better choices in life!