3 ms·
Many substances are selectively biodegradable i.e. remain shelf-stable forever as long as they are not exposed to oxygen or sunlight or whatnot. Also, concrete
by goodpoint 5y ago
Many substances are selectively biodegradable i.e. remain shelf-stable forever as long as they are not exposed to oxygen or sunlight or whatnot.
Also, concrete degrades by itself. In decades it crumbles, pulverizes and goes back into being soil.
But, importantly, it does not become toxic particulate like plastic.
[edit: corrected phrasing, thanks zdragnar]
Same for other sustainable materials like compacted soil, gravel, sand...
- zdragnar 5y agoIsn't that simply weathering? Biodegradable would seem to imply to me that bacteria and fungi feast on it and convert it to what we consider soil.
- devonkim 5y agoThe production of concrete is responsible for a ton of pollution in the world and while there's significantly lower environmental impact concrete available, few projects use them because of its higher costs for primarily environmental benefits. The distribution of the lifecycle of the environmental impact matters and if things are pretty bad now I'd strongly consider anything with backloaded environmental costs over ones that have environmental costs incurred up-front.