 In relation to timescales for biodegradation, the OPA said it was not useful to examine how long it took for particular specimens to breakdown in particular conditions, due to the variability of environmental conditions.It said the key point was that oxo-biodegradable plastics would breakdown faster than conventional plastics under the same conditions.Regarding recycling, it said its members had been successfully recycling oxo-biodegradable plastics for more than ten years, with no adverse reports.