Just think about how many used condoms there must be somewhere in the world. All the condoms you’ve ever used. And your grandparents. And theirs. Surely they could be made out of some of those plant-based plastics that are currently being developed?
And don’t get me started about disposable nappies.
Condoms are mostly made of latex, which is biodegradable. This is why they have a use by date, which you absolutely should check. And also why their storage instructions say to keep them in a cool dry place and not in your warm and constantly moving wallet, even if you think you’re a total dawg.
There used to be condoms made of animal membranes, for those alergic to latex; don’t know if those are still produced, though.
Regarding condoms, the average latex condom degrades the moment it starts to dry. I don’t exactly know what the vulcanization process does to the latex but natural rubber degrades.
In my work, I find too many condoms, discarded where they should not. I’m proud to know people use them - safe sex should be the default sex (and fun, let’s not forget fun) - but the things should be properly disposed of, not tossed to where it is more convinient.
To those who do it: may your toilet one day return you all the rubbers you ever tried to flush.
Do you work in retail?
There are also other options for latex-allergic individuals. Can’t remember what polymer offhand. But probably less biodegradable than latex.
Polyurethane
Fiberglass
They’re… Made of latex?
Condoms have done more to protect the environment than Green Peace.
Haha fair point
I know where my very first condom is.
I lost my virginity in the woods near my childhood home. My then-partner took the used condom and threw it on a branch. We called it the condom tree.
Considering those woods are still there, and we were in a relatively quiet spot, that condom’s probably still there… twenty years later.
I admit it’s not the most environmentally-friendly thing we could’ve done, but we were teenagers. 🤷♀️
I have good news and bad news.
Bad news: Latex (which condoms are made from) degrades fairly quickly. That condom is long gone after 20 years, sorry bro.
Good news: The tree itself and surrounding shrubs and wildlife almost certainly absorbed the condom and its contents. So, in a way, it will always be there.
Ahh. The philosophical franger!
ehh, no. “biodegradable” by my standard means that nothing will be left of it after a certain amount of time (e.g. 500 years). for babies, bones would remain. so not biodegradable.
Bones break down completely over time. The collagen goes first leaving just the mineral structure, then soil, water, microbes break down the calcium and phosphorus over time. Skeletons only survive for ridiculously long times when they’re in particularly harsh conditions like desert conditions, frozen conditions, bogs, or when minerals replace the bone to make a fossil. Bones are biodegradable.
interesting. TIL
Ysk bones fully biodegrade within 50 years.
Edit: if not in a low oxygen environment like a bog.
Can confirm, I am the bog
Are you, by any chance, a rattlin’ bog?
My first lemmyjuicing! :D
If that were true we wouldn’t care nearly as much about fossils
bones break down quickly when they aren’t preserved.
The largest source of plastic waste by tonnage is soda and water bottles. Coca-Cola is the largest producer of plastic waste by a very large margin.
If you were to fuck someone the same amount of times as you drink a soda you wouldn’t get anywhere near the amount of plastic waste as you do with just drinking that soda.
For fuck sake, stop drinking soda and fuck people instead.
Also don’t rely on cars. Amount of microplastics coming out of car tyres is ridiculous.
I need my soda, I do recycle, and nobody wants to fuck me.
No one needs soda lol.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news but recycling plastic is a myth.
Less of a myth, more of a scam by the companies making plastic
I know.
My soda cans have significantly less plastic in them than soda bottles.
Cans are now lined with plastic, too. Definitely less there are some cool videos where people dissolve the aluminum to show it.
Grosses me out that it’s in the can.
I don’t drink soda, I do fuck. I might be on the right side of that equation
i don’t drink soda, and I don’t fuck!
Ace gang! 🎉
Most of them are made of natural latex which is biodegradable
Organic latex and natural rubber condoms are biodegradable.
vulcanized rubber isn’t, but it gets better if some biodegradable fillers are included (decomposes in years in favorable conditions)
The concept of vulcanized condoms has me imagining that I’m weighing Goodyear condoms against Firestone and Michelin.
I don’t know why this is so funny to me.
When the rubber hits the road!
Ribbed for … traction?!
Sure, they’re great for traction, but the treadwear rating is only 200. Can we expect these condoms to last more than 25,000 miles? Or are they just track day condoms?
If its biodegradable we’re probably gonna need to change mid race.
latex objects (condoms, gloves) are vulcanized
does it imply different winter versions tho?
Some people do like chains in the bedroom.
you do realize that condoms are mostly rubber/plastic, and that burns very well, and most garbage is incinerated (burned) anyways?
Most garbage is buried (US source).
In Germany, landfills still take in more trash than incinerators Source. The recycling rate is very high, however, so most trash is recycled rather than burned or landfilled.
In Japan, the major country with the largest use of incineration, 70% of municipal waste is burned. However the recycling rate is among the lowest of alll OECD nations at 20%.
very interesting! thanks.
It would appear that in my country (Finland) roughly a bit over half of the garbage is burned and basically all of the rest is recycled.
You would have yo go through so many condoms to even approach the waste that comes with a baby. Like even if you use cloth diapers, you go on a trip and use a few disposable diapers? Boom that’s more landfill space than a decade of condoms.
I bet a lifetime of condoms is less than first month of having a baby. Especially given how sleepless mum and dad are, they can make pretty stupid decisions in regards to many things, hence not eco friendly in many ways too.
All the cloth diaper people I knew were still going through packs of baby wipes quickly, and they all needed plastic baggies to transport dirties. No one was using a cloth bag for that.
Still might be better in the end, but I actually think diapers are one of the things we should be working hard to get more environmentally friendly, they have so many benefits for convenience, but especially baby health and comfort.
We were cloth diapers and cloth wipes people. We had a bag to carry the dry wipes and a leak proof box with soapy water to wet the wipes before use. The cloth diapers were lined with a special paper filter that could be peeled from the diaper with the solids and thrown safely in the toiled. The wet and dirty diapers were rolled and kept in a thick, waterproof, cotton bag.
It took planning but we went the full lenght. And even refused to supply discardables for the daycare. We instead showed them how the diapers we used were as easy, if not more, to handle than the discardables.
No love for Fred Brewster and his good pal Geronimo
Ah nice. Because the penniwise ‘paper straw’ comedy needed an homage.
Or you could just leave them in and let the body absorb them.
I can’t imagine that would be good for their reliability, unfortunately
Yeah, out of all the plastics to reduce the waste of, the ones protecting from diseases and economic ruin are not the ones we should look to first
Same goes for drink straws, they should be fining and sanctioning the large companies for their wanton pollution that could be greatly reduced. But, you know, money.
