When you throw something away, do you think about where it’s going next? Or how long will it stay there? Different materials decompose at different rates, and that can also depend upon landfill conditions. The longer it takes, the more waste piles up. Recycling and/or reducing consumption of certain products can help keep landfills clear.

So, how long does it take garbage to decompose? According to the U.S. National Park Service, it could take anywhere from weeks to centuries for the following items to disappear:

A few weeks

• Paper ticket/towel
• Fruit peel
• Newspaper

A few months

• Apple core
• Cardboard
• Cotton
• Waxed milk carton

Decades

• Cigarettes
• Lumber
• Plastic bag
• Leather
• Nylon
• Tin can
• Rubber

Centuries

• Batteries
• Aluminum cans
• Disposable diapers
• Sanitary Pads

Almost never

• Glass
• Tinfoil
• Styrofoam

Plastic is one of the most common materials found in a variety of items. It’s also one of many types of wastes that take a long time to decompose. Thankfully, certain plastics are recyclable.

Every year more than 18 billion disposable diapers are thrown away, just in the United States alone. Along with other absorbent hygiene products, these items take centuries to decompose, leading to some programs offering specialized recycling.

While more than 120,000 aluminum cans are recycled throughout the country, every minute of every day, there’s still a large amount being thrown away and left for centuries to decompose in landfills.

Glass is easy to recycle, whether for personal use or through your community collection. However, it still finds its way into landfills and can take millions of years to decompose, if it does at all.

Paper the largest element by volume in American landfills. But it’s also recyclable. We can easily save a lot of landfill space while reducing the energy and material required for making new paper.

Food waste is the largest item by weight in American landfills. While it doesn’t take as long as some items to decompose, there are still other options for reducing waste and recycling certain menu items in our own gardens.

With the increasing volume of landfill waste, we’re quickly running out of space for everything to decompose properly. While recycling programs help, we can still help prevent future environmental issues by reconsidering products that generate waste that doesn’t easily decompose. Remember these timelines the next time you’re about to buy something or throw something away. Then consider if there’s another option.