Cub Scout Recycling Tour

In honor of Earth Day, I organized a recycling tour at our local recycling center for my son's Cub Scout Den. It was very cool to see how much they collect on a weekly basis! I think it was educational for the parents as much as for the boys. Here are some interesting facts we were given:

Time it takes for debris to decompose:

Glass Bottle: 1,000,000 years
Monofilament Line: 600 years
Plastic Beverage Bottles: 450 years
Disposable Diapers: 450 years
Aluminum Cans: 80-200 years
Foam Plastic Buoy: 80 years
Foam Plastic Cup: 50 years
Tin Can: 50 years
Leather: 50 years
Nylon Fabric: 30-40 years
Plastic Film Canister: 20-30 years
Plastic Bag: 10-20 years
Cigarette Filter: 1-5 years
Wool Sock: 1-5 years
Plywood: 1-3 years
Waxed Milk Carton: 3 months
Apple Core: 2 months
Newspaper: 6 weeks
Orange or Banana Peel: 2-5 weeks
Paper Towel: 2-4 weeks

If you would like to learn more about recycling in your area, go to http://earth911.org/