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rtbrtrtnty (sh.itjust.works)
submitted 5 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[-] [email protected] 9 points 5 months ago

Would a styrofoam cup actually stay in reasonably good shape for 400 years after being buried?

Mostly a curiosity thing. I sometimes use styrofoam peanuts in planters for drainage purposes, and after a single growing season, they've already started to show signs of degrading. Not that microplastics are a good thing, but it also makes me wonder if they would actually stick around in good condition for 400 years.

[-] [email protected] 10 points 5 months ago

If it's actually make out of polystyrene, I've read that is supposed to take 500 years like a lot of other plastics.

Many packing peanuts are biodegradable these days though, so it might not be actual styrofoam (polystyrene + air).

[-] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

Those packing peanuts are made from corn and are basically edible.

Or if you wet them, they get sticky and you can stick them together to make stuff.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

My mum gave me those for toys as a kid, to make stuff like you described. Ate a fair few, am fine.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

I think they're literally stale undusted cheetos.

I too have ate a few as an adult.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

I think the new ones are made from potato starch

[-] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

It would be plastic for a very long time, but the cup wouldn't likely survive very long. It would get ground down to plastic dust to be ingested within a few years unless it was in a particularly stable area.

this post was submitted on 18 Feb 2025
719 points (99.0% liked)

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