If plastic was made in 1907 how do they know it may take up to 1000 years to decompose?

Question

If plastic was made in 1907 how do they know it may take up to 1000 years to decompose?

In: Chemistry

Answer 1

We did experiments. Put it under really intense heat and ultra-violet lamps, packed it into material with enzymes and microbes, etc. We took lots of measurements at how fast the material breaks down, and projected it outward. Plastic doesn’t last 1000 years and then one day falls apart, it is affected by the environment and steadily breaks down, in a predictable fashion.