this post was submitted on 31 Mar 2024
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You are on the right track. Hides are a byproduct. Nobody kills animals for them.
Once the hides are turned into leather, they are no longer biodegradable.
Natural leather is absolutely biodegradable.
Veg tanned leather is impervious to bacteria. Fungi can damage it, albeit slowly.
Chrome tanned leather is similar but way more resistant. Probably 99% of the leather (except shoe soles) people deal with is chrome tanned.
If you try to put it in your compost you are going to be sad.
When I worked on a dairy farm I had to replace my leather boots every 9 months because the moisture and manure broke the leather down.
Leather that is kept dry is very resistant to rot, leather that is allowed to stay wet is not.
I'm pretty sure that was because of its exposure to animal waste products which are acidic and not the typical environment leather is exposed to.
That would tend to suggest that it would also do alright in compost doesn't it?
Or OP it’s because wears out boots because they work hard.
Wearing out boots is not biological degradation.
Not the same corossive chemicals, constant wear, and liquid exposure as a compost. Your typical good compost most like won't have those characteristics and likely shouldn't either.
Who puts animal waste in their compost?
Yeah this is just not true at all.
What would happen if you just buried such chrome tanned leather and forgot about it?
That is the test the military used (maybe still uses) to see if the leather for their boots passes quality inspection.
If it was not treated with TCMTB, then fungi will eventually break down the leather. If it was, it will still be there.
We (humans) have leather that has survived in ancient ruins since the beginning of history.
Composting veg leather is considered the best method of disposal as it breaks down in 3-5 months.
Chrome tanned leather can take much longer to break down but is still considered biodegradable.