this post was submitted on 07 Dec 2025
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That plastic bag estimate is off by a factor of 100. Obviously this isn't meant to be taken seriously but it still feels like misinformation. Someone will see that and decide it's true.
What do the plastic bags break down into when they decompose?
I am under the impression they don't decompose at all, just break into smaller pieces.
Based on what I've read, you are correct, and plastic might never really decompose. It breaks into smaller and smaller pieces which are stable enough to stay plastic essentially forever. That 1000 to 2000 year thing that I read about contradicts some other things I've read, so it's pretty confusing. I need to track down that article and clarify this.
The best thing we can do as a species is eliminate as much plastic waste as possible.
The duration for a plastic bag to break down primarily depends on the type of plastic used, and a number of environmental factors.
There are plastics that actually break down in a few years, other plastics are in the centuries to millennium range. On top of that, it depends on the environment, too: acidic, basic, wet, dry, protected, exposed, temperature, etc.
Sure got my hopes up about Cleveland