Fact Flash:
– Rubber takes 50 years to decompose in the natural environment
– Nylon takes 30-40 years to decompose in the natural environment
Anyone who needed to attach a pen to a clipboard at work or wanted to make a bracelet in class might have contemplated using a link of rubber bands to do the job. The next time this through crosses your mind – DON’T DO IT!
I’ve recently had to untie several rubber band links to try and reuse as much stationery as possible and save the environment. Turns out that they’re harder to untie that I initially thought. Rubber is a natural material that comes from rubber trees, and all natural materials deteriorate. Once hardened and callous, untying the link becomes a match of human determination vs. rubber.
As an elastic material, rubber expands and contracts with external forces. When attempting to untie the knots on one rubber band, the other rubber band accommodates the motions by moving along with the untying forces. This maintains the structural shape of the knot instead of loosening the knot.
Nylon string, on the other hand, is made of an entirely synthetic polymer. It can be untied with ease as it maintains its structural integrity even when pulled. It is also easy to find spare bits of nylon string in the storage room that have been cut off from packing boxes. When rubber bands are stuck in a link, they cannot be reused for their original purpose and need to be thrown away, but the spare bits of nylon string are bound to be thrown away anyways.
In addition to that, rubber takes longer to decompose than nylon! Save the environment, reduce the rubber band budget, and save yourself time – use spare bits of nylon string instead of rubber band links.
