Decay
Organic matter may be defined as material that is capable of decay, or the product of decay (humus), or both. Usually the matter will be the remains of recently living organisms, and may also include still-living organisms. Polymers and plastics, although they may be organic compounds, are usually not considered organic material, due to their poor ability to decompose. A clam's shell, while biotic, would not be considered organic matter by this definition because of its inability to decay.
Read more about this topic: Organic Matter
Famous quotes containing the word decay:
“It had been a moving, tranquil apotheosis, immersed in the transfiguring sunset glow of decline and decay and extinction. An old family, already grown too weary and too noble for life and action, had reached the end of its history, and its last utterances were sounds of music: a few violin notes, full of the sad insight which is ripeness for death.”
—Thomas Mann (1875–1955)
“The constant abrasion and decay of our lives makes the soil of our future growth.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)