Dickface A leaves a beer can on the roadside, Dickface B a wad of styrofoam,say 4x4x6 inches, Dickwad C one of those plastic cups you get at the Convenient Andrew that holds 64 ounces of Blue Slurpee.
How long will it take these discards to break down to the point they are unrecognizable? If I came back in 20 years could I say ‘Yep, that was once an aluminum can’. How long before they disintegrate to constituent bits that might possibly integrate with their surroundings?
I’m talking reasonable processes here; sun and rain and snow and insects and leaf cover but no canivores or hurricanes or nuclear explosions.
I’d like to add a semi-rant (not BBQ Pit material) here. So here goes:
The apartment building in which I live is on one corner of an intersection. There are only two sidewalks leading up to said intersection. On the other hand, there are four convenience stores within two blocks of this building.
Since the building is on the corner without the sidewalks, many folks cut through the building’s courtyard. I’ve no problem with that. It’s the constant littering that’s disgusting. AFAIK, nobody here comes to someone else’s home and throws trash all over the place.
Also, the litter’s not confined to the courtyard. It’s in the parking lot. Heck, Hansel and Gretel could find their way home quicker here by using the discarded cigarettes, straws, and snack food wrappers than by tossing bread crumbs around.
Look you freaking moronic litterbugs. This isn’t a fucking slum. So let’s not make it look like one. Real people really live here.
My guess is that the plastic and styrofoam might eventually get incorporated into a bird’s nest, but there is no natural process I know of which will get rid of the can. About the only way that it’ll become unnoticeable is if enough sediment covers it that it gets buried.