var json_comments = new Array("
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GMFish
June 30, 2009 1:37 PM
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God, this is one of many lessons I've learned in life, do not buy cheap garbage bags. My favorite are sold at Tractor Supply Co. and are strong enough to hold concrete. Sure I don't use them in the house, but I use them for everything else.

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4 replies
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Anonymous
June 30, 2009 1:57 PM
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@GMFish:

It's really not that complicated:
1. Buy whatever bags you want. I choose the cheapest I can get.
2. When the bag is full, tie it in the trash can.
3. Take the trash can with you to the dumpster or other garbage recepticle.
4. Invert the trash can over the garbage recepticle.

The generic bags run about $0.10 each and I've not broken any of them in as long as I can remember. But if you do, so what? The garbage has reached its interim destination.

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Baccus83
June 30, 2009 2:31 PM
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@SuranjanaMyrrha: Yeah but I don't want to have to lug a trash can down three flights of stairs and through an alley. I have no problem doing that with a tied-off garbage bag.

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sponica
June 30, 2009 2:23 PM
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@SuranjanaMyrrha: this might be possible in the burbs where the garbage is outside your front door or someplace where there is a trash room on every floor, but not when the trash has to go 3 floors down and then OUTSIDE. Juggling a trash can (which can be mighty heavy when full) along with my keys is not a pretty sight. Plus I don't like when bags tear in the trash can because then I have to clean the trash can...

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Etoiles
June 30, 2009 3:08 PM
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@ptkdude: A ridiculous number of women's clothes don't have pockets. Pointless and true. (Nearly all skirts, and a high number of dress pants. Also many kinds of not-so-dressy pants, nearly all dresses, and most around-the-house workout-type pants and shorts.)

This is why I still have a lanyard keychain that I got in a college program in 1997.

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sponica
June 30, 2009 5:58 PM
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@Etoiles: yeah or they do have pockets but they are practically decorations as you can't fit anything in them...but my trash hauling days are over for now. now i get to take the bag to the outside trash and travel a whole 15 feet instead of down a couple of floors, outside and around the corner. and the front door isn't always locked....the perks of being back at home in the burbs

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Scuba Steve
June 30, 2009 2:14 PM
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@SuranjanaMyrrha: There's also another part of this, I use \"cheap\" bags, but not the cheapest.. I've never had a problem pulling them out of my kitchen trashcan, and bringing them to my dumpster.


Then again, I have a reasonably small transcan.. more trash might require a better trashbag.

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Megan Squier
June 30, 2009 2:32 PM
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@Scuba Steve: So do I. My kitchen is nice sized but the walls are completely lined with cabinets and appliances so I can't fit a regular sized trash can anywhere. I bought a medium sized, plastic open top can and stuck it under my sink. Modifying the cabinets for a full size can would NOT be cost effective at all. The house is 20 years old and the cabinets are original so I'd have to go through the hassle of trying to match the stain on the cabinetry with a new unit. Purchasing a new unit that would fit would cost a bundle too!

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gfonner
June 30, 2009 1:41 PM
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We use the cheaper CostCo bags for our daughter's diaper pail though. They work fine for a bag of dirty diapers but I don't trust them for our kitchen trash.

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3 replies
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NotEd
June 30, 2009 3:33 PM
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@gfonner:


We buy the large Costco trash bags (don't know the size, but they are black with a red pull tie) and have always liked them to use in our smaller kitchen garbage can.
They were always as good as name brand until we bought the last box. This whole box the pull ties don't work, they just would stretch and tear unless you manually work them through (the plastic tie is basically sticking to the bag). It's inconvenient and wasted a few bags at first. Plus the ties seem to stretch easier, so you can't carry the bag with them as intended.
Probably going to switch back to name brand after this box is empty or, if I do get them from Costco again with the same issue, return the box.

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MyDarlin
June 30, 2009 2:31 PM
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@gfonner:


My Costco bags although less expensive than 'name brand' are up to par w/ the name brand. We use all the trash bags Costco carries, lawn/garden, kitchen, etc and have never had a problem stuffing them w/ garbage. With 2 pre-teens who take care of the trash....believe me they stuff them pretty well!

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Jim Topoleski
June 30, 2009 2:00 PM
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@gfonner: there is a difference between \"costco\" bags and the ones they are talking about here.

Costco bags are pretty much rebranded major manufacturer bags. They are talking about dollar store bags here.

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Brian James Schend
June 30, 2009 1:42 PM
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Not to mention that when the cheap one breaks you have to use another one. So you have to account for the extra ones when you calculate the REAL price.

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knightracer
June 30, 2009 1:43 PM
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I've never had a problem with using Costco bags in the kitchen.

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2 replies
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MooseOfReason
June 30, 2009 7:02 PM
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@knightracer: Talking about the Kirkland ones?

Sometimes when I've pulled the handles, the top of the bag ripped. Could just be \"too much garbage\", but the bags are kind of weak.

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Pinget
June 30, 2009 4:32 PM
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@knightracer: Me neither. I've never used anything but house brand trash bags and never had one split open. Even the thinner, recycled 7th Generation ones seem just fine to me.

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chersolly
June 30, 2009 1:43 PM
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I've always used to the cheap trash bags and have never had a problem. Am I doing something wrong?

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2 replies
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JanetCarol
June 30, 2009 1:55 PM
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@chersolly: What you are doing is right. You are probably not trying to stuff odd shaped items into a bag that is too small.
You know who you are out there.... trying to stuff an XL pizza box into a bag that's too small instead of just walking it your outside trash can / dumpster.

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catastrophegirl chooses not to fly
June 30, 2009 2:06 PM
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@JanetCarol: sometimes you don't have the option of putting trash in anything but a bag. when i lived in orlando the trash collection rules involved no trash cans at all - it had to be bagged and left at the curb. no, it wasn't an HOA, it was the city rules.

unfortunately with racoons, dogs and possums around this meant not getting to put the trash out the night before, i had to put it out around 5 am on trash day.

and once i even found a DUCK ripping into my trash

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Trey Mahaffey
June 30, 2009 2:40 PM
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@chersolly: you are the right one here... from what i read it sounds like the writer is used to stuffing 20 pounds of shit in a 10 pound bag. have been using the publix brand for years and not 1 problem. the writer also points out that he will not buy generics and fill them 80percent full. i suspect that is not his problem... i suspect that he is filling them to 120percent full then smashing them down. here is a great idea for the writer... get a trash compactor!
and next time come up with a story that will actually effect some peoples buying habits and money

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Kd McEntire
June 30, 2009 5:17 PM
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@Trey Mahaffey: I'm with you on this one. I think they must be trying to smash a whole lotta trash in those bags to get them to rip. I only buy generic/cheap bags with one exception - I'll buy the biodegradable bags for our yard waste and compost them if I'm sure there aren't any weed seeds in the refuse for that particular project.

I've had a generic bag rip on me once and that was when I had broken a bottle and didn't want to bother fussing with all the tiny shreds of glass by taking them out to the bin. But then again, I learned from my grandmother who lived through the Depression. The woman would roll up or manually compact her trash before disposing of it. She got EVERY inch of space out of her garbage sacks and only had to pay the garbage men to come out once a month for two bags. It got the point where my mom would collect the sacks at the end of the month during one of their grocery days and put it out with our bags to save her the five bucks. When I was a kid I was simultaneously grossed out and amazed. Now I'm just amazed. That woman wasted NOTHING. EVER.

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outoftheblew
June 30, 2009 2:38 PM
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@chersolly: Ditto. I prefer Target's bags. I have super-thin ones that I use for the bathroom and bedroom, but heavier ones for the kitchen, which is then the one that all others get put into and gets taken to the curb. Never had problems ... like you, I must be picking the appropriate bag for the appropriate situation.


@catastrophegirl - just add kittens: LOL @ a duck digging ripping into the trash! That's gonna stick with me today. Here in the midwest, it's just dogs and raccoons.

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schernoff
June 30, 2009 4:45 PM
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@outoftheblew: Just dogs and raccoons? In my part of the world, trash can = lunch box for bears.

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nffcnnr
June 30, 2009 1:44 PM
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Hmmm...Why didn't this thrift-minded blogger use all of the maple syrup in the glass container that broke? And why wasn't the glass container in the recycle bin??? Throwing away food and not recycling, double shame!! :p

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11 replies
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Rectilinear Propagation
June 30, 2009 3:54 PM
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Why didn't this thrift-minded blogger use all of the maple syrup in the glass container that broke?

@nffcnnr: I initially read that part as the container was thrown away because it was broken not that it had gotten broken in the fall. My reading comprehension fail.

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Baccus83
June 30, 2009 2:33 PM
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@nffcnnr: you ever try to get ALL the maple syrup out of a bottle? you practically have to smash the bottle open.

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floraposte
June 30, 2009 2:43 PM
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@Gene Gemperline: That's why you pour some milk in, swish it around, and have a tasty maple-y milk drink. Though I don't do that because I'm obsessed about waste, I do that because I adore maple syrup (the real kind).

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matt1978
June 30, 2009 2:25 PM
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@nffcnnr: Maybe the syrup didn't taste good.

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calquist
June 30, 2009 2:10 PM
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@nffcnnr: That was my first thought as well. Couldn't he have drained that last bit of maple syrup for some pancake stew?

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Jim Topoleski
June 30, 2009 2:06 PM
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@nffcnnr: not all towns recycle, and many who did have been dropping it as its much more costly and dangerous to the environment due to the custic chemicals often involved to recycle than to throw it away.

And in the case of paper/glass/and aluminum, all break down relatively easy into the environment

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seattlemaninblue
July 1, 2009 5:34 PM
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@Jim Topoleski: \"its much more costly and dangerous to the environment due to the custic chemicals often involved to recycle than to throw it away.\"

Do you have a source for this claim or are you just making it up?

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r081984
February 22, 2010 1:00 PM
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A lot of recycling uses more energy and creates more pollution than just throwing it into a garbage dump where it will be contained and have its decomposing gases collected for energy.

The only recycling that is worth it is with aluminum cans. All other recycling hurts the environment.

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SJActress
July 1, 2009 5:41 PM
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@seattlemaninblue:

An episode of Penn & Teller's Bullshit backs up his argument.

I'm not saying I agree, I'm just giving you a possible source to his claim.

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temporaryerror
June 30, 2009 2:45 PM
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@Jim Topoleski:
Our local trash company just started a thing where we get a big recycle dumpster and just throw everything into it, without needing to sort or clean & peel. Then, depending on how much we recycle, we get points that are redeemable for gift cards and such.

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outoftheblew
June 30, 2009 2:40 PM
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@Jim Topoleski: Umm, what is in your soil that causes glass and aluminum to break down relatively easily?

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Etoiles
June 30, 2009 3:09 PM
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@outoftheblew: I think that's \"relatively easily\" in the sense of, \"can actually happen in units of time humans can measure,\" as opposed to certain kinds of plastics.

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lotussix
June 30, 2009 1:47 PM
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@nffcnnr: our curbside recycle bin does not allow for glass.


otherwise i do recycle.

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outoftheblew
June 30, 2009 2:39 PM
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@lotussix: Neither does mine. That's why I periodically take it to the recycling center myself.

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travisw
June 30, 2009 1:45 PM
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Costco's Kirkland Signature garbage bags are great! And I don't have to buy very often.

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mbz32190
June 30, 2009 1:45 PM
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You know what costs you less? Not buying trash bags at all. I reuse plastic grocery bags in my smaller trash cans and a paper and plastic bag in the kitchen. (Although I do have several rolls of thin \"industrial\" trash bags swiped from work--have never had one of those rip everywhere). I never understood why people spend money on bags they are just going to throw away.

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14 replies
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costanza007
June 30, 2009 9:30 PM
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@mbz32190: hey i buy toilet paper that i'm just going to flush.

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bluewyvern
July 1, 2009 3:16 AM
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@costanza007: To me, one of the saddest purchases ever is a bottle of drain cleaner. I take it home, I open it up...and I pour it down the drain.

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zlionsfan
June 30, 2009 8:30 PM
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@mbz32190: We use the big trash containers for the trucks-with-arms to collect on trash day, but there's still that point where the container is open and in the air above the truck, and depending on the winds, anything in my container that isn't bagged may end up in my neighbor's lawn, or mine, or (worse yet) in the storm drain.

Plus there's the whole cat litter thing. Ideally, that wouldn't go in the trash at all, but I don't think my homeowners' association would go for a giant pit in my backyard for burying used litter. (Besides, there's an easement to another drain in the corner of our yards ... might as well just have flushed it at that point.)

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MaelstromRider
June 30, 2009 4:13 PM
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@mbz32190: My city has regulations about what kind of bags need to be used (any standard trash bag will do) so using wal-mart bags to hold garbage isn't going to work.


And before everyone goes all nanny-state bonkers, the ordinance actually has a purpose. It allows the city to issue citations to idiots who don't put their trash in a bag, or in a proper bag, which results in trash all over the streets on collection day. Even with the ordinance, it's still a problem since this is a college town, and generally, kids away from home are complete idiots the first year with regard to basic living skills. But, they're smart enough not to get 2 citations, for the most part.

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Rectilinear Propagation
June 30, 2009 3:59 PM
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@mbz32190: Where do you live that the grocery store plastic bags don't all have holes in them already?

I reuse the few I get (I take reusuable bags to the store) but I usually can't put anything dripping or small in them because there's a hole in the bottom.

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mbz32190
June 30, 2009 4:17 PM
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@Rectilinear Propagation: I tend to use Wegmans plastic grocery bags. They are made out of strong plastic and have a reinforced bottom...even stronger than Target bags. They even had a display once showing a bag holding several pounds of sugar without any tears. I don't tend to waste money on things that are going to be thrown away, right away. I tend not to use sandwich bags either unless necessary, and even then, I buy the biggest cheapest box of the fold-over kind.

As for kitty litter, just double up some grocery bags. If you don't have any, just go to a grocery store and grab a handful out of a recycling bin (the stores will thank you--those things cost money to get rid of) It isn't really that big of deal.

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Rectilinear Propagation
June 30, 2009 5:43 PM
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They are made out of strong plastic and have a reinforced bottom

@mbz32190: Wow.

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kaceetheconsumer
June 30, 2009 2:21 PM
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@mbz32190: I used to re-use plastic grocery store bags for all garbage too. I never bought (or stole, sheesh) any bags in my adult life until recently, because re-using was free and plentiful. I'd double them up, and if they had small holes in them, I'd use those ones for garbages that were mostly tissues (ie beside my bed).

But I started going all-cloth-bags right before it became trendy (back when I'd get dirty looks from some baggers for asking that they use my cloth bags), and that eventually ate through my huge supply of grocery plastic. So much so that I didn't have enough to wrap fragile items in when I moved and had to beg extras off of my non-cloth-bag using friends!

Now we only get plastic bags when my husband forgets to take cloth bags when he does some shopping, or from the occasional Target shop. We reuse those as well, but we've had to actually buy virgin plastic. The Kirkland bags have held up just fine for us in the kitchen.

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catastrophegirl chooses not to fly
June 30, 2009 2:07 PM
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@mbz32190: i'm guessing you never had more than one cat box at a time, nor had to deal with used cat litter leaking out of a cheap bag?

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vildechaia
June 30, 2009 3:08 PM
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Double bagging used kitty litter in plastic grocery store bags ought to solve that problem.@catastrophegirl - just add kittens:

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catastrophegirl chooses not to fly
June 30, 2009 3:51 PM
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@vildechaia: sometimes it does - sometimes every single plastic grocery bag i have has holes in it. last night i found myself orienting the different holes so they wouldn't overlap and triple bagging it.

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Taliskan
June 30, 2009 4:50 PM
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@catastrophegirl - just add kittens: I am so happy to know that I am not the only one that does this. I always double-grocery-bag my spent cat litter, but holes there are always holes! >.<

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DoubleBaconVeggieBurger
June 30, 2009 5:30 PM
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@Radi0logy: I use grocery bags for all our trash, and we use about 5 per week. Granted, there are only two of us, plus a dog, but I really don't think you'd make it to 50-70 bags a week. Our kitchen trash goes out about every 2 days, bathroom trash once a week, and bedroom trash... um I don't remember the last time I emptied that, we really don't use that one.

We recycle a lot, and anything big or smelly goes right into the trash outside.

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sponica
June 30, 2009 2:27 PM
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@catastrophegirl - just add kittens: my worst nightmare...the target plastic bags are pretty good for holding scooped kitty litter. they rarely rip. but when I need to completely change out the 3 litter boxes you can bet I'm NOT using anything that's cheap. I don't care.

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1stMarDiv
June 30, 2009 1:55 PM
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@mbz32190:


I do the same exact thing. For our larger trash bin in the kitchen we use the Kirkland Signature bags from Costco, which are cheap and reliable. But for every other can we use the plastic grocery bags we're gonna throw out anyway. It's the same thing with people who buy mason jars or plastic containers. When we use a jar of spaghetti or finish a container of butter we just save it for storing food.

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craptastico
June 30, 2009 1:55 PM
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@mbz32190: because we don't all think it's okay to steal from work

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Cant_stop_the_rock
June 30, 2009 1:49 PM
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@mbz32190:

\"and a paper and plastic bag in the kitchen\"

What does that mean?

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Jakuub
June 30, 2009 1:57 PM
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@Cant_stop_the_rock: Plastic bag inside of a paper bag, the benefits of both!

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Cant_stop_the_rock
June 30, 2009 1:46 PM
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I'm pretty sure Costco's Kirkland brand bags are much less than $.15 per bag, and they're good quality bags. I've never had one break. All Kirkland brand products are good quality.

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3 replies
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BadHairLife
June 30, 2009 5:04 PM
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@Cant_stop_the_rock: I've had Costco's bags break - but that's only in the past couple of years. Previously, they were the best thing out there.


I have multiple kitties, so my garbage bags are put to the test.


Walmart's are the absolute biggest waste of money anywhere.

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pmcpa4
June 30, 2009 3:00 PM
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@Cant_stop_the_rock: 3rd! Never had a problem with any Kirkland product, and they say if you do, bring the unused part back for a full refund!

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kaceetheconsumer
June 30, 2009 2:22 PM
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@Cant_stop_the_rock: Seconded. We use the Kirkland bags in the kitchen and haven't had a single problem yet. And yes, I don't think we've had a quality issue with any Kirkland product ever.

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Anonymous
June 30, 2009 1:46 PM
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I just bought the cheapo brand from my local grocery to compare the difference. I paid 5.99 for 100 bags. The branded bags are mostly all .69 mil - the bags I bought are .6 mil So far so good, no problems with leakge, breakage, etc. We'll see how the other 95 bags go!

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runchadrun
June 30, 2009 1:50 PM
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I use Target brand bags and have never had a problem. I've bought grocery store private label bags, assuming they were the same as Target, and in general they are not nearly as good.

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2 replies
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liz.lemonade
June 30, 2009 7:38 PM
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@runchadrun: I've had problems with Target's knockoffs of the Hefty Force-Flex Kitchen Bags. Breakage and handles coming out of the top casing. Now I'm just waiting to run out so I can buy more Hefty.

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youbastid
June 30, 2009 3:29 PM
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@runchadrun: Seconded. Target kitchen (13gal) bags are much cheaper than the glad bags and I've had them filled to the brim with fairly heavy stuff. They've never broke on me, and I've been using them for years.

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Hoss
June 30, 2009 1:50 PM
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I'm a fan of the bags selling at Home Depot under the Husky brand. Very durable, reasonable price.

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loudambiance
June 30, 2009 1:52 PM
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how the hell did you get a force-flex bag to break? I swear I could put a whole apartment worth of furniture in one and those things would keep stretching to hold it...

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5 replies
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NewsMuncher
June 30, 2009 7:21 PM
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@loudambiance: This apartment dweller has to lift her garbage bags over her head at times to get the bags into the dumpster (after walking 50 ft or more to the dumpster). I will never use forceflex again, as I never again want to wear my wet garbage.
- I had filled the bag with several heavy/wet things and was having a really hard time getting a handhold on it in such a way as to not overbalance it and it just ripped like an overripe tomato. I probably put more poundage in it than was called for... but I am a chronic overstuffer of all things stuffable. Not that I could tell you what type of garbage bags I use right now, except I have yet to have regular bags (no tie-strings, either - hubby be a hater of them) try to give me a septic bath.

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Taliskan
June 30, 2009 4:55 PM
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@loudambiance: I haven't had a bag break or tear on me yet... but the handles/drawstring always seem to tear or break off. So frustrating!

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Etoiles
June 30, 2009 3:12 PM
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@loudambiance: All it takes is one really sharp thing.

Last time I moved, there was a bag of the Force Flex garbage bags around so I used it. (And you know how it is when you're moving; it's amazing how in a short span of time, you can end up surrounded with so much that doesn't need to come 400 miles with you to the next place.) I kept putting holes in them while throwing out those big plastic bubble packages that everything comes in. (The kind you need a machete and half an hour to get open.)

Although interestingly enough, the mangled and smashed IKEA desk didn't put a hole in the garbage bag.

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calquist
June 30, 2009 2:12 PM
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@loudambiance: They only break when you put something really messy in. Try throwing some coffee grounds in the bag with your furniture, it will break instantly.

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Erin Cummins
June 30, 2009 2:12 PM
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@loudambiance: I've had the opposite experience with the flexforce. Everyone I've used for anything other than conventional garbage (like taking stuff to the salvation army, cleaning up the basement, throwing away something broken or in small pieces) it's split immediately! And for the regular garbage the drawstring top bags work just fine so why pay more for the flexforce? Maybe I'm expecting too much from a bag but in the commercial they throw away wire clothes hangers so you'd think an old holey pair of shoes wouldn't do that much damage.

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jonc20
June 30, 2009 1:55 PM
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Instead of wasting money buying garbage bags, I bought a small garbage can and use grocery bags.

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Kimaroo - 100% Pure Natural Kitteh
June 30, 2009 4:13 PM
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@jonc20: I used to use grocerie bags for everything, but then we moved and changed stores, and let me tell you.. Kroger grocerie bags are just about as worthless as they come.. Once they get home they seem to decentegrate automatically. I stopped saving them all together because they are so worthless.


I'd like to start using reusable bags but I just don't see how I would remember to use them, and not only that.. but I think my husband just wouldn't bother. (He does most of the shopping, or we do it together.)


If they start charging fees for disposable bags.. then we'll probably do something.

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Radi0logy
June 30, 2009 2:07 PM
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@jonc20: Clearly you are single and live alone. I'd love to see you accomplish that feat with 2-3 children in the house, a dog, two parents and all the accompanying cleaning and cooking.

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sponica
June 30, 2009 2:28 PM
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@Radi0logy: throw in 3 cats (and the accompanying litter) and see what happens.

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GreatCaesarsGhost
June 30, 2009 2:25 PM
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@Radi0logy: Easy, you just take the trash out more often. I live in a 2 person house, with 3 such bins. The one in the kitchen gets the bulk of the work, and needs emptied once every 2 days. (The others get emptied less than once a week). The outside trash bin is on the way to our cars, so we never need to make a special trip to the bin. In a 4 person house you'd just empty it once a day (or slightly more), but you have twice as many people to split the duty (this is a good chore to give to kids).

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Radi0logy
June 30, 2009 3:58 PM
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@GreatCaesarsGhost: Its easy to say, but then you gotta start wondering where you get all the bags to accomplish this - 3 bins emptied an average of 10 times a week = 30 baggies a week. Of course, I doubt a household that large would be able to get by with just 3 trash bins - In my head, that is 1 kitchen, 2 bathrooms, 3 bedrooms and maybe one more for a total of 7 bins. 50-70 baggies a week? I guess you could go rob Kroger for the bags but not exactly easy to manage that situation.

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Firethorn
June 30, 2009 2:16 PM
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@Radi0logy:
When I was a kid living with my parents, we had a HUGE garbage can - one intended for outside work in the lawn.


It lasted maybe two days. Of course, that was the ONLY garbage can in the house outside of the small one in the bathroom, that did get grocery bags, and was transferred into the big one.


We also recycled paper and aluminum cans, though not plastic. It was before the whole global warming thing, and plastic recycling wasn't really available.

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doggscube
June 30, 2009 1:56 PM
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Aldi's 30-gal. black trash bags are great. They never fail.

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winshape
June 30, 2009 1:56 PM
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Wow. That reads like one of those infomercials - minus the Billy Mays.

Regular trash bags are soooo flimsy, they break 2 out of 10 times! That doesn't happen with my super duper Hefty Forceflex tall kitchen bags, rated #1 in consumer reports, Ebert gives it 2 thumbs up, and there's a compass in the stock!

I second the other posts about Costco brand trash bags. They are very cheap, and the only problem I've had is the occasional draw-strap break - but the bag itself has never failed.

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JGKojak
June 30, 2009 2:40 PM
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@winshape: Sadly, all infomercials will now be minus Billy Mays.

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Powerlurker
June 30, 2009 8:21 PM
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@JGKojak:

Who will take up the blue shirt and beard to fill his shoes?

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Nighthawke
June 30, 2009 1:59 PM
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We use Hefty leaf bags to stuff our clothes in whenever we have to evacuate if a hurricane starts to show up. We also use them to cover boxes and stuff so they won't get wet or blown out while on the road.

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tard
June 30, 2009 2:03 PM
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This goes double for freezer bags. I've bought the store brand a few times and I've had the seams burst when trying to push all the air out.

Now I just go for the Glad brand bags and no more problems. It's worth the extra 30% or so.

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Erin Cummins
June 30, 2009 2:13 PM
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@tard: target brand freezer bags work great for us, never had a split.

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Allison Granados
June 30, 2009 2:32 PM
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@Erin Cummins: i've never had the target bags break on me, but the zipper's hard to open once it's been snapped closed. i know that makes me sound ridiculously weak.... :)

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ribex
June 30, 2009 2:04 PM
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There is no Costco anywhere near me so that's not an option. I use and love the Glad Forceflex bags. I've tried the Hefty kitchen bags but the drawstring is very much inferior on those - it doesn't pull well and the plastic at the top rips. The Forceflex bags are darn near perfect, and I buy the ones with the OdorShield - they really do help to keep odors at bay in the kitchen.

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dave23
June 30, 2009 2:09 PM
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Just look for the name brand that you like to use and then look for a store brand with the same \"mil\" number. I believe the \"mil\" is short for millimeters thick. I use BJs .85 mil 30 gal bags ($8-$10)

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Rectilinear Propagation
June 30, 2009 4:02 PM
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@dave23: I did not know that they put that information on the box. Neat!

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shepd
June 30, 2009 2:32 PM
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@dave23:

One \"mil\" is a thousandth of an inch. Which makes sense. Your plastic bags aren't anywhere near even a half-mm thick (If they were, they'd be heavy like a tarp!)

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dave23
June 30, 2009 11:07 PM
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@shepd: thanks, I always wondered what that meant...I did a quick (15sec) google search and didn't find the answer.

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bunnycup
June 30, 2009 2:14 PM
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I choose my trash bags by \"absolute cheapest price for most bags\" and have NEVER had a problem. But I don't overfill them - when they get full, I just take them out. Who wants trash piled up on top of the bag in some kind of jenga-like tower of doom, anyway?

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dave731
June 30, 2009 2:15 PM
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It depends on the generic or store brand you choose, I prefer the Target kitchen bags over the Glad kitchen bags. They are tougher than the name brand and the pull strings don't break as easy, plus they are way cheaper.

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jchabotte
June 30, 2009 2:29 PM
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I LOVE my ForceFlex bags.. My wife made me buy generic store brand bags one time at the grocery store and nearly every one of them fell apart.

about 1/3 of the way through the box, she finally relented and went and bought the ForceFlex. The first thing that went into my new batch of ForceFlex was the store brand bags.. Good Riddance!

Buy cheap, Buy Twice!

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shepd
June 30, 2009 2:30 PM
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I buy nothing but the cheapest bags. 1 out of two rips, sure, they're garbage. But if you are careful about taking it to the curb, it doesn't matter. I've never had a spill yet after about 5 years of using them.

I've only double bagged perhaps twice this year. Considering I get 100 \"cheap\" bags for the price of 20 of the better quality glad bags (I checked, this is WalMart's \"Maximum\" brand vs. Glad's similar sized bags), I'm doing pretty damn well.

I also prefer to fill the bags to less than bursting full. Makes it easier to drag to the curb. As far as the environment is concerned:

- They're WAY thinner so the amount of plastic used works out in the end (in fact, I'd say in my favour, they're THAT thin)
- Our stupid landlords require us to break down our boxes, put them in garbages bags, and place them at the curb for garbage collection
- Can't use anything but black trash bags (landlord requirement--yes, they send notes about this) and a lot of the \"name brands\" aren't black anymore

Really, it's just a matter of using cheap bags long enough to figure out how to use them properly. After a few months, you won't notice the difference. For real.

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Skin Art Squared
June 30, 2009 2:30 PM
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For outside use I use the Costco black heavy duty Lawn & Garden bags... they rock. For inside the house, like the kitchen, I have a Simple Human trash can and buy a box of 400 supply Simple Human bags. They are the best trash bags you can buy IMO. Kind of spendy, at roughly .26 per bag, but well worth it. And they fit the SH can perfectly. No overhang, no tucking, and nothing showing when the lid is closed. Good investment.

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Dansc29625
June 30, 2009 2:39 PM
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Publix brand kitchen bags here, no problems. If you empty your trashcan more often you wont have trash all over your floor. Duh!

Cheap bags are for people that don't like trash stagnating in their house overnight. Looks like your into that sort of thing.

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Trey Mahaffey
June 30, 2009 2:41 PM
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what an idiot!

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IvanaNemean
June 30, 2009 2:51 PM
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Am I the only one who had a bad experience with Forceflex bags? Every single one of them ripped at full capacity. I never bought another box.

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pullapint
June 30, 2009 2:54 PM
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@Jim T, I live in Northern Nevada with mining towns all over. They are constantly finding glass pieces that date back hundreds of years. That's not my definition of \"relatively easy\" when it comes to decomposing. And I doubt aluminum would be any better.

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pmcpa4
June 30, 2009 2:59 PM
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I stick with either name brands, or Costco House Brand - Kirkland. Costco has never served me wrong with ANYTHING they sell as their own!

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IfThenElvis
June 30, 2009 3:03 PM
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We are a family of three (incl. 1 teenager). In a week we only go through 1 or 2 grocery bags of garbage plus 2 bins (2x2x2) of recycling. I can't image accumulating so much stinking garbage in the kitchen that huge trash bags are needed. When we didn't have municipal wheeled garbage bins we used black bags to take garbage to the curb it now don't need them.

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techstar25
June 30, 2009 3:12 PM
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I don't agree with Trent here. There are some items where the cheap version is just as good as the expensive version - and garbage bags is one of those things. I buy Ruffies bags and they are just as good as the more expensive bags.
Some people might need a bag designed for heavy duty stuff, like the Force Flex, but it depends on what you're throwing away. For regular stuff, the Ruffies work fine.

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Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!)
June 30, 2009 3:24 PM
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We have a restaurant supply store that's open to the public (it's sort-of like a warehouse store, but no membership fees and limited in what it carries) and I get industrial trash bags there, very cheap. We use them as litterbox liners.

I understand that in many cities there's a place like this that's open to the public at wholesale prices.

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Burzmali
June 30, 2009 3:40 PM
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What the heck are people putting in their trash? Good for those who like their brand-name garbage bags. We buy store generic, 13-gallon draw-string bags. Aside from the draw-string occasionally breaking, we haven't had a problem (leak, break, or otherwise) in the last 4 years. Part of this, I'm sure, is our house rule about emptying runny/sticky/liquidy things down the sink before throwing away a container. Other than that, we fill our bags to the brim, including pretty heavy items (we clean out the fridge every few months), and we haven't had any real problems with the generic bags. Are you all throwing away shattered glass, razor blades, and buckets of water with your regular garbage?

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I Love New Jersey
June 30, 2009 3:53 PM
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Contractor bags FTW.

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Ragman
June 30, 2009 3:57 PM
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Buy the bags that fit your garbage style. I grew up in a house that let the trash overflow, then stomped it down to close the bag. If that's your style, fork out the cash and buy heavy bags.

Me, I use the cheap Ruffies 4 & 8 gal(.35 mil), Target kitchen 13 gal (.65mil), and Sams Club 39gal (1 mil). That's because I don't overfill the cans before I haul out the garbage. Same with the kitchen - I empty it before it gets overloaded. If it has something majorly stinky in it, then tying it off and getting another bag isn't the issue it would be with a bag that cost 3-4 times as much. I use the heavier lawn bags in my big trashcan to hold it all together.

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morlo
June 30, 2009 4:08 PM
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I hope the Consumerist is getting paid for this ad, since that other blogger certainly is

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vladthepaler
June 30, 2009 4:12 PM
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I really don't understand paying for garbage bags. I just use the plastic bags that my groceries get bagged in. They don't hold a lot, but I don't throw much away, and emptying the trash once a week doesn't seem like too much of a burden.

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MumblesFumbles
June 30, 2009 4:33 PM
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Maybe if you recycled your glass instead of tossing it your bag wouldn't get so heavy and break.

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unobservant
June 30, 2009 5:36 PM
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Step 1: Put your glass, plastic, and cardboard in the blue bin.
Step 2: Put your litter and dog poop in the green bin.
Step 3: Line your trash baskets with shopping bags.
Step 4: Profit from not needing to buy garbage bags.
Has recycling not hit the US yet?

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Ragman
July 1, 2009 2:38 PM
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@unobservant: Not in all areas. Some areas, you must sort recyclables by type and put each in it's own blue plastic bag. Blue plastic bags that you sometimes have to purchase yourself if the city's out of them. Not all are as lucky as those of us who live in cities that give you a 64 gallon wheeled recyclables bin.

There's no point in using shopping bags when the quality is so bad that you can't find enough that don't have small holes in the bottoms. I used to use them until the quality dropped and kitty litter would spill out of the bag.

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vgeroh
June 30, 2009 4:36 PM
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the same goes for light bulbs. buy cheap ones and replace them twice as much or pay a bit more and have them last twice as long.

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Ragman
July 1, 2009 2:41 PM
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@vgeroh: I learned that by using the so-called \"Good Value\" bulbs from wally world in a high light fixture. After the bulbs kept burning out once a month, I put a Phillips Halogen bulb in (pre CF bulbs).

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louiedog
June 30, 2009 5:22 PM
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I have to question the whole putting more plastic into the environment thing. Something tells me glad foreflex bags have more plastic in them than easily torn generic bags.

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scoosdad
June 30, 2009 5:35 PM
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Double whammy in my city. To fund the trash collection, we are required to use official city-provided filmsy yellow bags that only some of the supermarkets sell. The size that smaller households use is currently less than 1 mil thick, or just slightly thicker than the clear plastic that the dry cleaner puts over your order. No matter how careful you are, you inevitably end up tearing the bag somewhere. Every week I have to repair my bag with duct tape, or end up transferring my trash into a thicker name-brand bag and then putting the yellow bag around the outside of it to mark it as valid for pickup. (We have a separate pickup for recycled stuff, so there's no bottles and cans or stiff cardboard in my bag, mostly waste paper and packaging.)

My city has also gradually reduced the thickness of these yellow bags over the years to save money, and it's bordering on useless at this point. Other towns around us use a sticker system that lets you use any bag you want, within reason.

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P_Smith
June 30, 2009 6:08 PM
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Here's a better solution, and sorry to criticize the OP: Wash out empty food containers (plastic, glass, cans) before you toss them. And separate containers from other trash, recycling where possible.


Even if you don't care one whit about the environment, cleaning out the packaging of stuff you bought will reduce smell, mess, and the risk of bugs invading your house until trash day. And it will reduce the risk of your bags tearing or leaking.

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bcsus83
June 30, 2009 7:36 PM
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Honestly, I use Walmart's house brand (Great Value) kitchen trash bags. We always stuff them full before taking them out, and I've never had one rip on me. Ever. I've been using them for almost the entire 7 years I've been married without a problem, after switching from Hefty bags after about 3 months. We've lived in houses, where we we didn't have to carry our trash very far to the cans, as well as apartments and townhouses, where we were literally blocks from the community dumpsters. No problems whatsoever, and they've held everything imaginable.

We did recently try the Hefty bags w/ the odor blocker in them, and we liked them ok, although they are a far cry from 'unscented' as the package claims. The smell of the bags literally started to me nauseous before we ran out of bags and I wound up giving them away on Freecycle.

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balls187
June 30, 2009 9:21 PM
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Consider paying more for better bags, as a tax on your incompetence.

Recycle more.

I use paper bags I get from the grocery store. Haven't had a problem yet.

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Zyada
June 30, 2009 10:05 PM
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I use a product that I call city bags (I think they may be labeled as municipal bags). They are thicker than Hefty (1.2 mil to .85 mil) and cheaper by far. They only seem to be sold in some municipalities, but I will go out of my way to find them. They come in either a plain brown box or in a clear plastic bag.

I think that some municipalities require them to be available for purchase.

Mil is often listed as μ

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gman863
July 1, 2009 4:19 AM
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Depends on the type of trash...


Plastic grocery bags (Kroger, Wal-Mart, etc) are great for lining smaller bathroom and bedroom trash cans. They're also handy near the kitchen sink for wrapping food scraps and other food waste you don't want to waste water and energy tossing in the garbage disposer (and did I mention they're FREE?).


Larger store bags (Macy's, Toys \"R\" Us, etc.) are great for emptying smaller bedroom and bathroom cans into. They can also be used to line your paper shredder when disposing of those pesky \"pre-approved\" credit card offers. Agaun, they're free and this is a great way if recycling them.


For the heavy stuff, I go with Members' Mark (Sam's Club). I've never had one break (even with broken glass in it). The 39-gallon ones are so strong I use them as cat box liners - when the cat box mess hits critical mass, flip 'em inside out, pull the drawstring and toss 'em in the trash can.

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Gizmosmonster
July 2, 2009 9:57 AM
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contractor bags-home depot sells em' hold chinks of concrete without breaking

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Gizmosmonster
July 2, 2009 9:59 AM
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dog poop tied in little bags- what sort of wierdos will archaeologists of the future think we were when they find millions of well preserved bags of dog feces.

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