Why polythene bags doesn't decompose?

Answer 1

Good to bring this subject up. It is never bad to go over this again. Plastic is a very good contribution to society. Plastics make life safer for all of us. Hospitals use it on minutes basis because of higyene.

The very same thing that was made to protect us, would work in the opposite direction if not disposed of safely. The composition of plastic makes it durable to the environment when discarted. It kills marine life and can make trash last longer on land.

Recycling is the answer to this problem. In the related links box below, I posted the wikipedia article on plastic.

Answer 2

plastics are polymers. Polymers have double bonds and are thusharder to dispose of. This is because the bonds mean that the substance is stronger. The more doule bonds it has the less likely it is to disposed of quickly.

Answer 3

Plastic is designed to be inert and stable so it is no surprise that it is slow to decompose

The conditions for plastic decomposition are usually limited to attack by ultraviolet light or heat which break down the bonds between the monomers and cause the large plastic object to shatter and reshatter until it becomes just an inert particulate.

Plastic decomposition under biological attack is limited as few bacteria find it "tasty" however as some bacteria will eat crude oils there is undoubtedly some species that can be raised that will feed on plastic.

As far as plastic decomposition in waste disposal sites, these facilities are designed to minimize decomposition to prevent methane generation. They are both dry and anaerobic. Eve sfoodstuffs (fruit and steaks) have been found preserved after several decades of burial.

Answer 4

It depends on the type.

Most plastics will not decay, or do so only very slowly, so are hard to dispose of buy land-fill unless you accept they will stay there. They can't be burnt, or not easily and without producing very nasty combustion products.

Thermosetting plastics and synthetic resins can't be recovered. The most you could do with them is grind them down to produce filler materials for various industrial uses.

Glass-reinforced resin material ("fibre-glass") is very difficult to dispose of except by burial, but it is pretty well inert in the ground.

Some Thermoplastics can be recovered, and are generally used for lower-grade plastic mouldings, fillers etc.

Answer 5

Plastic doesn't quite decompose. Scientists have found out that it actually turns into smaller and smaller pieces of plastic.

Answer 6

Plastic bottles don't decompose

Answer 7

They don't have enzymes to digest it.

Answer 8

Because plastic is non-biodegradable