 Conventional polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) plastics will typically fragment quite quickly, but will then take decades to become biodegradable.OXO-degradable products utilize a catalyst to speed up the fragmentation.The first process of degradation in OXO-treated plastic is an oxidative chain scission that is catalyzed by metal salts, leading to oxygenated (hydroxylated and carboxylated) shorter-chain molecules.