<Dl> <Dd> Polylactic acid is an example of a plastic that biodegrades quickly . </Dd> </Dl> <Dd> Polylactic acid is an example of a plastic that biodegrades quickly . </Dd> <P> Under low oxygen conditions biodegradable plastics break down slower and with the production of methane, like other organic materials do . The breakdown process is accelerated in a dedicated compost heap . Starch - based plastics will degrade within two to four months in a home compost bin, while polylactic acid is largely undecomposed, requiring higher temperatures . Polycaprolactone and polycaprolactone - starch composites decompose slower, but the starch content accelerates decomposition by leaving behind a porous, high surface area polycaprolactone . Nevertheless, it takes many months . In 2016, a bacterium named Ideonella sakaiensis was found to biodegrade PET . </P> <P> Many plastic producers have gone so far even to say that their plastics are compostable, typically listing corn starch as an ingredient . However, these claims are questionable because the plastics industry operates under its own definition of compostable: </P>

What term is specific to reactions in which complex compounds are broken down into simple molecules