• Plastics can take 20 to 500 years to decompose, depending on the material and structure.
• The breakdown rate of plastic also depends on sunlight exposure (UV radiation).
• Single-use plastic grocery bags take about 20 years to break down.
• Plastic water bottles (made of polyethylene terephthalate - PET) take around 450 years to fully break down.
• Not Natural Plastic is derived from petroleum and doesn’t occur in nature. Its carbon bonds differ from those in nature, making it harder and more energy-intensive to break down.