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.
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.