Plastic bags are biodegradable if they decompose completely to carbon dioxide, methane, water, biomass and inorganic compounds under the action of living organisms under aerobic or anaerobic conditions. Directive 94/62/EC states that the product must decompose 90% within 6 months to be considered biodegradable.
To be considered compostable, biodegradable plastic bags must disintegrate in less than 3 months and no longer be visible in a controlled environment. So far, not all biodegradable plastic bags are compostable.
