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> So which is it - "lasts forever" or "breaks down"? It can't be both. It is both. Large pieces of plastic become smaller pieces of plastic, all the way down t
by scott_s 8y ago
> So which is it - "lasts forever" or "breaks down"? It can't be both.
It is both. Large pieces of plastic become smaller pieces of plastic, all the way down to microscopic pieces of plastic. In that sense, it “breaks down”. But it remains plastic, that is, it does not degrade to constituent parts. In that sense, it does not “break down”, and it does “last forever.”
- southern_cross 8y agoYes, if exposed to the elements it will indeed eventually break down. It's probably going to take a while, though. And AFAIK there's not much to prevent the individual polymers from eventually breaking down, either, although none of this may be particularly good for the environment. There are things out there which will happily eat (digest) that plastic, too.
- scott_s 8y agoThe timescales required for plastic to become not plastic are, I believe, that of centuries at least. We have plastic in us, as does just about all living things on this earth, as a result.
- slededit 8y ago"Plastic" isn't a single molecule. Different types have different amounts of decomposition. PLA will break down in human timescales.