Garbage, Man

Umbra on trash bags 21

Dear Umbra,

I am attempting to wean myself off plastic bags. I am also aware of the environmental impact of brown paper bags. So we are OK with cloth grocery bags, but can you suggest an alternative that can be used as a trash can liner (that's economical)?

Lisa
Columbus, Ga.

Dearest Lisa,

Plastic trash bags ... a Frequently Asked Question that I have never answered. Have I been saving this succulent trash bag question for a special day? No, not really. Late March, though, feels a bit like trash bag time, so let us slosh forward into speculation about what could possibly improve our trash arrangements.

Clearly there's a better way.

Photo: iStockphoto

A few obvious ideas strike me: no trash bags, recycled plastic trash bags, biodegradable trash bags, reusing someone else's plastic bags.

No trash bags: Is this possible? It sounds disgusting, but if we reduce our garbage as we should, the grossness may ebb. We can reduce the mass and moisture of our garbage by recycling, composting, eating less or no meat, and frequently emptying the trash bin. We can wash the trash can often so it won't get stinky. Through serious whole-family commitment, the No Bag option may be feasible -- until the trash leaves our house.

Unfortunately, I can't put loose trash in my outdoor trash can for pickup. If you can, maybe this idea will work for you. Or the No Bag option could morph into a Fewer Bags option: Is it possible to line the outdoor trash can with one ginormous bag? Then we could empty our bagless household garbage into the giant bag and tie the giant bag shut just before pickup day. I still see holes in this plan. Maybe the garbage people limit the size of individual garbage bags. Only one way to find out: call your waste disposal company or city and learn the rules. There must be some way to use slightly less baggage.

Recycled plastic trash bags are completely possible. Until we find a no-bag trash option, we should be buying trash bags made with recycled plastic. Recycled plastic content replaces virgin plastic content and reduces our use of petroleum. Recycled plastic bags also keep plastic out of the waste stream. We all know this about recycled material, but it's worth pointing out every once in a while: buying products with recycled content is almost as important as sending material to be recycled. Biodegradable trash bags, on the other hand, will be a waste of money unless you know for sure that your landfill is designed to hasten decomposition, through aerobic or anaerobic means. Call your town government to find out where the garbage goes.

Our final idea of the day is to reuse someone else's plastic bags. At first, this will be easy and uncomplicated. You surely have friends with piles of used shopping bags. Offer to collect these bags, and you will have small garbage bags for months (yet more motivation to produce less trash, since you may need to find a smaller trash can to match the smaller bag). Unfortunately, if you continue to garnish their bags, you will become complicit in virgin bag use. The better path is to convert these people to reusable shopping bags, offer to take their old bags off their hands, and then have neighborly company in the trash bag dilemma. There are unavoidable and nonrecyclable bags, such as those coated-paper dog (and other) food bags, and these would make acceptable garbage bags upon occasion. Again, you'll need to check with the garbage guys to see if these pass muster.

Where does this leave us? I am not trying to slither out of the question, I just can't come up with a clean answer. Except: make less trash, use fewer garbage bags, have less of a dilemma.

Incineratorly,
Umbra

 

Yours is to wonder why, hers is to answer (or try). Send your green-living questions to Umbra.

Umbra Fisk is Grist Research Associate II, Hardcover and Periodicals Unit, floors 2B-4B.

Related Stories

Advertisement
Advertisement

  1. raychelle Posted 11:04 pm
    25 Mar 2008

    trash plastic bagshere's what I do - I reuse all the plastic bags my food comes in (the bread bag, the tortilla bag, the lettuce bag, you name it) as my trash bag.  given, they are much smaller, but since i live in the city and it's always good to get the trash out of your apt on a daily basis to prevent unwanted visitors and irritating feline poop smells :)  
    the way i see it, the plastic packaging my food comes in always ends up in the trash anyway, why not use them as my trash bags anyway?  and yes, i try to pick bulk items and avoid food with too much packaging.
    what do you think?

    Permalink

  2. realale Posted 1:13 am
    26 Mar 2008

    Great idea!We've found that simply by recycling and composting, our family of four generates less than one kitchen trash bag of "garbage" a week.  
    Once we get through our box of kitchen trash bags (at one a week it takes a while to get through the box of 100 we bought way back when), I very much like the idea of using the small plastic bags that are already headed to the waste stream as containers.  Great idea!

    Permalink

  3. sunseeker Posted 3:05 am
    26 Mar 2008

    paying for plasticWe need to start paying some of the cost of producing plastic. So if we choose to use plastic bags we will pay for it. If you use cloth bags for long enough you do run out of options for lining the trash can. So this way at least buying plastic is a concious purchase and I am paying for a product I don't take for granted.

    Permalink

  4. sje333 Posted 4:16 am
    26 Mar 2008

    100% post-consumer, without recyclingRecycling has serious downsides, including emissions from the recycling facility, waste generated, transportation costs to and from the factory, and energy input at the factory.  I refuse to accept plastic grocery bags from friends and family, because that would encourage them to keep producing waste plastic bags.
    I get my trash bags for free by stealing them from the recycling collection bin in front of the store (in Florida, Publix and Albertson's both have bins that are easy to get into).  This keeps the bags out of the recycling stream (a dirty process), and eliminates my need for expensive 100% post-consumer recycled bags.  I look forward to the day when there aren't any free trash bags available!  Then I'll switch to biodegradable corn-based bags.
    BTW, a few people have given me strange looks over the years, but if anyone ever questions me, I'll say the bags are fuel for my time machine and run away cackling.

    Permalink

  5. estark Posted 5:43 am
    26 Mar 2008

    Choose biodegradable bagsThe obvious answer to this is to use biodegradable bags or reuse plastic bags that you find or from recyling bins, as sje333 mentioned.
    But we need to address the insidiously dangerous issue with plastic (polyethylene) bags in general: they are everywhere and they're a disaster to ecosystems. They're in landfills and in the oceans and other waterways; most are not recycled and they never go away. According to Californians Against Waste, 19 BILLION plastic bags are used annually in California alone and only 1-4% are recycled. Furthermore, recycling plastic bags is difficult and not energy efficient. Thousands of animals die every year due to bags. Wild birds get entangled in them and die deplorable deaths and it's estimated that 100,000 endangered sea turtles and marine mammals ingest them and die as well. The problem is atrocious. Resuing plastic bags is good, but they still end up in landfills and waterways and never disappear.
    I was at Whole Foods the other day and had brought a biodegradable plastic shopping bag with me. Upon seeing the bag, the checker perked up and asked me where I got it. I told him it was from a vegan cafe on Kauai called Lotus Blossom where I had purchased a bamboo t-shirt. Then he started lamenting about the whole plastic bag quandry. I suggested he talk with his bosses. That unleashed more, with him telling me that they don't really care, the store just cares about what they appear to be, it's too expensive, etc. etc. After I left I wondered why, even if it's more expensive, that they don't even give folks the option of paying an extra 15 cents or whatever they cost, so that if we forget or choose not to bring our own bags, we can at least get a biodegradeable that will break down when in prolonged contact with water. It would help the store to appear 'greener,' as well. Sure, at this time biodegradable bags do require a petro-based form of polyester, but research is in the works to develop biodegradable plastics based on renewable feedstocks.
    We all need to speak up and tell stores what we want. Targeting ubiquitous Whole Foods initially may help to consolidate our efforts. And because they're such a big company, they may set an example for other stores down the road. So here's what we need to do: Please contact Whole Foods and tell them that you want them to provide biodegradable plastic bags, both at checkout and in the produce aisles.
    Whole Foods contact: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/contact/contact.html

    Permalink

  6. TrashTsar Posted 5:55 am
    26 Mar 2008

    Thanks for Poo-pooing Biodegradable BagsUmbra,
    As a landfill manager and recycler, I thank you for noting that biodegradable bags are generally a waste of money. This is a point on which many members of the public are very confused/deluded.
    Bags that biodegrade (assuming they live up to their advertising claims) do little to assist us at the landfill. If I had my way, nothing in my landfill would degrade. That would spare me the cost of managing the landfill gas (methane) that results from decomposition. Decaying garbage causes the surface to settle and creates low spots that collect rain water and get me in trouble with the regulators.
    Post-consumer plastic bags are very hard to recycle as it is.  The few buyers that exist are very picky about contaminants like bread crumbs, moisture, paper receipts, price tags, and the like.  The last thing they want to do is introduce biodegradable plastics into the mix and end up with a product that decomposes in the hands of a consumer who was looking to buy a durable product.
    Biodegradability is a red herring when it comes to plastic bags.
    Bottom line?  Take a reusable bag to the store, and if you NEEd a bag for some use, buy one!

    Permalink

  7. karenc Posted 6:50 am
    26 Mar 2008

    Unavoidable bags...I'm with Raychelle... I use the bags that some of my food unavoidably comes in- bread bags, tortilla bags, etc.  One small bag lasts me about 2-4 weeks just for the things I cannot recycle.  I am one person in a small apartment, don't buy anything except from the thrift store or the co-op so don't have much packaging.  I throw my tiny little sandwich size bag into the giant dumpster by my apartment building which is, of course, overflowing with all sorts of things- giant trash bags loaded with beer bottles, sometimes a mattress- and sometimes I try to dumpster dive and recycle this stuff too but I could drive myself crazy (a short drive, as my second husband would say) trying to do this!  Education by example?  I am hoping....

    Permalink

  8. Gatta Posted 8:13 am
    26 Mar 2008

    Garbage BagsI'm another one who uses grocery bags for garbage, because for the life of me, I cannot see the logic of paying money I can't afford to buy plastic bags to put my garbage in to throw it away when the market gives me perfectly good plastic bags for free.
    I am fortunate enough to have a disposal unit in my sink, so most of my wet garbage goes down that. Paper garbage goes in the waste basket, and anything in between (mostly washed cans) goes in the garbage bag under the sink, which has nice little handles to hang it up by. Once it's full, out it goes. I know these bags biodegrade fairly quickly, because I've tried storing things in them outside, and they turn to shreds as soon as they get wet.

    Permalink

  9. jennconspiracy Posted 8:22 am
    26 Mar 2008

    I've eliminated plastic bags in the kitchen...but haven't eliminated them for cleaning the litterbox.
    Depending on where you live, you may be able to put all your food scraps (in the Bay Area we have a lot of resources, here's one for Oakland  www.stopwaste.org) in the "yard waste" bin.
    Fake Plastic Fish is a great blog devoted to reducing the amount of plastic one woman uses in her daily life - lots of great information here:

    http://www.fakeplasticfish.com/labels/Issues%20-%20Plasti ...

    Permalink

  10. jennconspiracy Posted 8:23 am
    26 Mar 2008

    yikes!Gatta - garbage disposal?  That just doesn't sound good - all those food scraps could be composted!  Putting that stuff down the drain just means that it has to be treated in a sewage treatment plant with so much other waste.
    If you have a yard, you can at least bury all your raw veggies scraps.  Check with your local waste management company to find out if you can put all food scraps in the "yard waste" bin - even if they don't collect it weekly, if it gets stinky, that's ok - it's composting!

    Permalink

  11. JimF Posted 10:27 am
    26 Mar 2008

    How to get free garbage bagsYou have a garden, or know someone with a garden.  Mulch and compost are always welcome. Many places have leaf and yard waste pickups. People put leaves in plastic bags.  We pick up those bags, mulch with the leaves, and use the bags as garbage bags.  Extra bags we give away for others to reuse.

    Permalink

  12. swan's avatar

    swan Posted 11:45 am
    26 Mar 2008

    wash it!Put the messy stuff in a small, tightly closed bag and the rest can probably go in loose. Wash everything - cans, bottles, etc before tossing. Much more sanitary even if your recycling doesn't require it.  

    Permalink

  13. weaselteeth Posted 12:02 pm
    26 Mar 2008

    vermicomposting!if you don't have a convenient back yard for composting, try vermicomposting.  These "red wrigglers" will eat your garbage, and give you worm castings, a great fertilizer to put in your potted plants.  It doesn't smell as long as you keep it from getting too moist with drainage holes.  What drains is also great fertilizer for your plants, or for that little patch of grass squeezed between the sidewalk and the road.
    Some good articles here:  http://www.happydranch.com/index.html

    Permalink

  14. Gene Posted 12:54 pm
    26 Mar 2008

    plastic bagsWith so many variables, and so much information most of us will walk away with some new ideas.  I live in an apartment half of the week and in a rural area the other half.  I compost all my vegetable matter, recycle every single thing I can and my husband and I create less then a plastic grocery bag of garbage a week.  Still, I've tried lining the kitchen garbage bag with newspaper and then throwing that into a dog food bag or some bag destined for the landfill.  Lately, instead of the super thin bags I have that I use for my recycling, I scooped up a bag blowing around the road from a less then conscious neighbor.  It's much more sturdy then the large yard bags I bought that will take me a lifetime to use.  I fill it with my recyclables and empty it into the bin.  I bring it back and reuse it.  So, this is my contribution, maybe consider using a very sturdy plastic bag and emptying  it's contents into the bin and giving it a quick hosing, and long drying in the sun.  I use newspaper now for a days worth of garbage and just hoist them into the bin.  Newspaper can be recycled but it's out of the loop of plastic.  I haven't gotten my husband off the daily newspaper cycle yet...
     thanks for great commentary.  My husband also like to say when I complained...it's driving me crazy!  That's a short drive.  I have to hold myself back from grabbing the recyclables in the garbage.  

    Permalink

  15. stp777 Posted 12:58 pm
    26 Mar 2008

    garbage,manditto with jimf; in our area, yard clippings are collected in large paper trash bags. i gather these, dump the yard "waste" in a large compost pile [the addition of a lot of grass/leaves ect. helps cut odor of composting food] and re-use the bags for garbage, storing things, or re-distribution.

    Permalink

  16. fallchild Posted 1:20 pm
    26 Mar 2008

    What did Grandma do?I realize that I'm rather a fossil, however, I clearly remember the time when plastic garbage bags appeared on the scene.  They were, um, handy--and so neat!  But, honestly folks, millions of North Americans managed to deal with trash without plastic bags.  We shopped without plastic bags.  Newspapers arrived without plastic bags.  We reused paper grocery bags for the dry stuff.  We used galvanized metal cans with lids for the wet stinky stuff.  We used to keep those cans outdoors and carry our stinky garbage out to them daily. And, yes, the trash guys came around with a truck (that smelled rather unpleasantly) and hauled it away.  When we were lucky enough to have a garden or yard, we could compost.  In Philadelphia, the pig farmers from New Jersey came by once a week for the compostable/edible/garbage for pig food.  Maybe municipalities have become part of the problem, now requiring us to bag our trash in plastic.  But I've never checked with mine, and thanks, Umbra, I think I will do just that.

    Permalink

  17. GreenScribe Posted 1:30 pm
    26 Mar 2008

    there is a good choice:But it's not paper NOR plastic.  Great comments have been made about how truly dangerous and toxic plastic is to the environment.  In fact, in the Pacific Gyre, it's been estimated that there's 10 x the amount of plastic as there is plankton.  And what goes down the food chain goes UP the food chain.  Plastic whether recycled or not will NEVER biodegrade -until a microbe develops or is invented to eat all of it.  It will probably become the next Godzilla!  Did you know that 14 plastic bags use the same amount of oil as powering your car 1 mile!!!   That's why I got into selling reusable, organic fairtrade bags with messages about sustainability - to teach people that there's a better way! (you can see my products at sustainableBags.NET)
    With regard to bioplastics:  TrellisEarth bioplastics will biodegrade, and are  strong.  The company is also looking for new sources (maybe algae? ) to use in the future. But now, it will biodegrade, and leave no toxins behind.
    We have to change our habits:  just think of this term: throw it AWAY.  WHERE is away, anyway?  We must individually write to companies and tell them that we won't buy their overwrapped products - Even our prescription bottles come in plastic!   The world as we know it cannot continue - and you know, that's not such a bad thing.  Just think about how much more fit and healthy we were when we didn't use a garage door opener, clicker to get in your car, automatic windows, drive everwhere.  And kids: they're getting fatter from their electronic and motorized  toys - where's the kid power?  
    I'm actually looking forward to the end of oil- and the pollution and destruction, including wars, that it has created.  Humans have created a monster, and now it's time for us to start working together, using our creativity and potential goodness to create a cleaner, safer world for ALL - not just human centered, but every living thing on earth.  We can do it! But we MUST start now!

    Permalink

  18. tmakreider Posted 11:12 pm
    26 Mar 2008

    The new industrial revolutionI totally agree!!!

    We need to get beyond the recycle,reuse,reduce concept and start demanding companies to produce products and packaging that are eco-friendly.

    I have sent over a dozen letters (with their packaging) via snail mail, back to the companies requesting that they re-think the design and referencing the book below. I've sent letters via email to companies essentially saying the thing.  It's my way of trying to make the statement: they created the waste so they should have to deal with it...or create something different!

    The book Cradle to Cradlelinked text by McDonough & Baumgarten is a must read for anyone who cares about the state of our world and is looking for hope. My eyes have been opened to the realization that it is possible to turn the world around via a new industrial revolution.  The world is in desperate need of biochemists, scientists that constantly research bio-nutrients and techno-nutrients for consumables and every product that is made for human use!

    Permalink

  19. Judi Morgan Fuller Posted 5:00 am
    27 Mar 2008

    garbage bagsMy great grandmother did not have plastic bags and had to make a kind of container out of newspaper.  It has taken awhile to figure out how she did it but it can be done and I do it all the time now.  Of course as you said, make less garbage helps.

    She did wash everything so there was little or no odor and recycled everything else.  It either went to a paper pile, can box, glass box or into the compost bin.  But in her day stuff wasn't so over packaged.  All this started during the WW2, but she continued to do it a long time after the war was over - thank goodness or I would never have seen how she did it at all.

    Permalink

  20. mads2 Posted 8:33 am
    27 Mar 2008

    garbage bagsWhat the heck is wrong with the standard, biodegradable paper grocery bag.?? Which I do not see mentioned here?
    It is made out of a renewable resource, which us environmentalists are training people to take better care of, so maybe we won't use up all the trees, but it sure does not produce a disposal problem.
    If you compost,recycle , and then don't buy a lot of throwaway junk, you could be okay.

    Permalink

  21. industrata Posted 3:58 am
    09 Apr 2008

    Whole FoodsIn regard to estark's comment...
    Whole Foods is phasing out its plastic bags for their checkouts by April 22 (Earth Day) of this year.
    They also give at least a 5 cent discount for every reusable bag you bring to the checkout counter, and have for years. Earlier this year, were giving away reusable bags to customers. They sell those reusable bags for a dollar.
    That cashier knows this information. It sounds like he was being a Mr. Crankypants...

    Permalink

Add a Comment

You are not logged in. Thus, you cannot post a comment. If you have an account, log in. If you don't have an account, well, by all means go make one! Meet you back here in five.

Hello, Visitor!    Why not register?

Viewed
More
Commented
More
Advertisement