Biodegradation of materials resulting from artificial synthesis, such as conventional plastics, is theoretically possible when the material is broken down into small particles and the molecule mass of the material is sufficiently reduced to enable biodegradation. Factors such as light, humidity, oxygen and temperature determine the degradation rate. In the open environment it may take a long time, up to hundreds of years, for conventional plastics to biodegrade. Plastics marked as "biodegradable" only biodegrade under specific environmental conditions. So called oxo-plastics or oxo-degradable plastics are conventional plastics which include additives to accelerate the fragmentation of the material into very small pieces, triggered by UV radiation or heat exposure.

This accelerated fragmentation would also accelerate biodegradation. Oxo-biodegradation” as the solution to environmental impacts of plastic in the open environment. Oxo-degradable plastic fragments and biodegrades in the open environment without leaving any toxic residues or plastic fragments behind. This first stage of degradation prepares the oxo-degradable plastic for biodegradation by reducing the molecular weight of the plastic to the point where it may be consumed by biological organisms.

In general, these biodegradable plastics contain additives that cause them to decay more rapidly in the presence of light and oxygen (moisture and heat help too). Unlike bioplastics, biodegradable plastics are made of normal (petrochemical) plastics