Degradable
Change in initial properties due to cleavage of the polymer regardless of mechanisms.

Compostable
A product that when put into a managed composting site will convert at least 60% of its available carbon to carbon dioxide in 180 days.

Hydro-Biodegradable
Describes a two-stage process of hydrolysis of the polymer to first reduce its molecular weight followed by the biodegrading by the smaller oxidized species.

Hydro-Biodegradable Polymer
Describes a class of polymers which can be both plant derived such as PLA (polylactic acid) or in fact derived from petrochemicals such as polycaprolactone, or from a number of biological sources. Hydro-Biodegradable Polymer packaging cannot be recycled in the normal plastic recycling systems, as they will definitely contaminate the collected plastics.