Biodegradable Products

• The biodegradable products on the market today that are made with corn plastics look and feel just like regular plastic materials, so you get the strength and durability preferred with plastic plates for example, yet they will naturally degrade in your compost pile. Because they are made with corn--a renewable resource--the products are completely friendly for the environment and they'll contribute rich resources to your compost pile instead of creating more trash.
  
  How fast a biodegradable napkin or other corn-based product decomposes in the compost pile will depend on a couple of things. The exact process and materials used to create the product is one primary factor. The other critical factor is how active your compost pile is.
  
  

Active Compost

• An active compost pile is moist and hot. When your compost pile is in this state decomposition happens at a much faster rate because there are millions of microorganisms processing the materials in your compost pile.
  
  If your compost pile does not have enough moisture it can slow down its rate of decomposition. Likewise if there is not enough of a balance between green and brown materials in your pile, there may not be as much heat generated and thus the biodegradable napkins may take a little longer to completely decompose.
  
  Green and brown materials in compost simply refers to how much carbon a given organic material has. You don't have to be a scientist to understand the difference though, because your nose knows.
  
  Green compost materials create smells as they're rotting. Brown compost materials neutralize odors. Common green materials include kitchen scraps such as lettuce leaves and onion skins. Brown materials include dry leaves, coffee grounds and paper.
  
  When your compost pile has enough of both types of material, plus moisture, it will become active, generate heat, and decompose biodegradable napkins in about a month or two.