Is it true that one empty plastic pepsi bottle will take a billion years to decompose?

Question

It's nothing but plastic, LESS THAN A millimeter thick!

I actually read in Discover Magazine that it for all intents and purposes will NE VER decompose, but i've heard that it basically takes billlions (not millions) of years, and the earth may very well be gone before all these pop bottles rot away.

Fascinating...

Answer 1

I'm not sure of the actual time frame, but I know it is a VERY long time.  Those bottles would never decompose in the current conditions on Earth.  But they could if a bacteria mutated to utalize the energy in the plastic, thus breaking it down, or if a fire swept over it it would combust.

Answer 2

ok plastic doesnt really decompose but scientists estimate that all the plastic ever made will continue to exist until the earth blows up and then some may still survive. its actually closer to 5000 billion years.