Household Items That Take the Longest to Decompose

Jeff Naeem
August 4, 2019

Some common household items never decompose, and some take hundreds of years. At Junk-a-Haulics, we take junk removal seriously recycling as much as possible, and donation to neighborhood charities as much as we can.

Below is a list of common household items that take the longest to decompose.

  • Styrofoam
    Not biodegradable
  • Glass bottles
    1,000,000 years
  • Fishing line
    600 years
  • Hairspray bottle
    200-500 years
  • Disposable diapers and sanitary napkins
    450 years
  • Plastic bags
    500-1000 years
  • Plastic bottles
    70-450 years
  • Aluminium cans
    80-200 years
  • Batteries
    100 years
  • Rubber soled shoes
    50-80 years
  • Leather soled shoes
    25-40 years
  • Clothing
    up to 40 years
  • Plastic wrappings
    20-30 years
  • Foam Cups
    50 years
  • Nylon Fabric
    30-40 years
  • Milk Cartons
    5 years
  • Thread
    3-4 months
  • Cotton
    1-5 months
  • Rope
    3-14 months
  • Cigarette
    1-12 years
  • Paper Waste
    2-6 weeks

Looking to get more organized with your cleanup, check out the clean out checklist.

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