/ck/ - Food & Cooking

>>17999557
One common estimate is that styrofoam can take up 30 percent of the space in some landfills. Once in the landfill, it does not decompose quickly. Some estimates put the lifespan of styrofoam in a landfill around 500 years, and some put it way beyond that.

Of course, some fraction of all discarded styrofoam does not go into landfills. Some estimate that fraction at 20 percent, at least in the United States. A lot of that is just littered around the landscape, and a lot of that ends up in water. It does not biodegrade. It is chemically stable, and bacteria and microorganisms do not feed on it.