Eco Bags: A Perf Go Green Product Review
Looking for a sure fire way to combat the plastic bag dilemma? Want to green with your household disposable plastics, but need something that's actually strong enough to stand up to the necessary rigors? Enter, Perf Go Green. To find out why I think they rock, and what they have to offer, read on.
Available at Walgreens, CVS and Amazon.Com, these disposable products are completely biodegradable within 24 months. Some cool info from their press kit? They are also created from post-consumer and post-industrial plastic and combined with an additive that breaks them down into water, carbon dioxide and biomass with no release of toxins in the process. Another super cool tidbit? Their bags are now FDA food-contact compliant. So they'll be launching food storage and checkout bags this year. Wa. Hoo. They also have lawn and leaf bags and are gearing up for commercial sized bags for use in government, corporate and other large facilities with green systemic needs. See? I told you they rocked. Want some more specifics? Here are the product samples they shipped, and my reaction to each of them.
Doggie duty bags.
These are actually quite sturdy, and large enough to handle what larger dogs have to offer, if you know what I mean. I also liked their box design as it relates to easy dispensing. The bags come on a roll and easily pull through the top opening until the next line of perforation can be seen. Then, it's an easy tear off and you can move on to the next bag. The roll is a little large to fit into the round carrying tube we like to use when we have our dog on walkabout, but it's definitely doable for around the yard pick up, and if you like to carry a fanny pack or do the canine saddlebag gig as a pet hack for your road trips with Rover, these should work fine for those options as well.
Drop cloths.
I was sent one large enough to do a good sized project on. I haven't started sanding down my two piece storage cabinet to repaint yet, but I did pull out the cloth and give it a few tugs in multiple directions. Again, I feel comfortable using the word sturdy to describe this product. It also didn't rip immediately like many of the one millimeter drop cloths tend to do. Can I just say how cool I think it is that some company somewhere is buying a clue with regards to the other areas of need for biodegradable plastics? If there's another company selling eco-friendly drop cloths out there, I haven't found it yet. (Feel free to sound off in the comments section if you know of one.)
Kitty pan liners.
The sample I received was for the jumbo size. I don't own cats, but I did pull one out and give it the old poke and tug test on your behalf. Definitely as strong as the other products. I have a cat owning friend who includes product reviews on her blog, and she's graciously agreed to check out these products with a more detailed field test. We'll keep you posted.
Kitchen trash bags.
The box design is similar to the smaller ones for the doggie duty bags, but really comes into play in our kitchen with this particular part of the product line. There's an adhesive strip with a peel off protector that you can stick to the bottom of a clean kitchen trash can. Then, the products easily roll out one at a time and tear off quickly at the next bag. Slick. We used the thirty gallon ones that can also be used for yard projects. They are a nice roomy size with generous grab and tie handles, and you guessed it – STRONG. Yup. We're loving 'em.
Personally, I am waiting with bated breath for the food storage bags. In the meantime however, I'm psyched to know there are now options for some of the other areas of disposable plastics on the home front. It's great to go with reusable cloth and cut down on the product usage altogether, but not everyone finds that realistic. Perf Go Green provides an easily traversable bridge for the balancing act we all face between budget, planet and convenience.
Maybe I'm missing something. My husband and I talked about getting "green" trash bags, but realized that whether they decompose or not, they're still sitting in a landfill. I take it that's where your doggie bags and kitchen trash are going? In that case, does it really matter if the bags decompose or not?
It might make a difference for large landfills that harvest the gases from decomposing trash - in that case, yes it makes more sense to have a decomposable bag, which in turn helps the trash itself break down.
It's also an awesome idea for composters, although we just line our compost pail with newspaper and empty it frequently. No sense paying for a liner. :-)
Other thoughts?
The point is 'true' biodegradeable bags truly 100% decompose in controlled municipal composting like they have in Seattle, San Francisco, many places in Canada and alot of Europe....it will become more widespread here eventually.
Products like Perf Go Green are part of a pump and dump stock scam and are not biodegradeable...anywhere...anytime. You are right about landfills. Bags like biobag and other PLA bioresin based bags are great if you are in a composting community...crap like Perf Go Green bags are...crap anywhere.
Although "Eco Bags" are certainly preferable to buying plastic bags new, they still aren't what I'd call green. The production of the bags is likely not going to be completely green, even if they do use recycled plastics. Also, the 24-month decomposition time for this and similar products is somewhat misleading. Yes, the bag will probably decompose within 24 months in your back yard. In a landfill, however, due to major compaction and lack of oxygen, decomposition will still take much, much longer than that.
A better option for many uses (not food storage, though) is this: most grocery stores have bins near the entrances to collect used plastic grocery bags for recycling. Next time you go to the store, with your collection of reusable canvas bags of course, grab an armful of the used bags to take home with you. Reusing is always better than recycling.
Just my two cents...
Myscha
I like this idea. I'm curious though, will they start to decompose with your food still in it? For instance some people freeze food in plastic baggies, will it start to decompose with our fresh food still in there?
That's my only concern, otherwise looks like a hit.
-Nate
You know Nate, not sure on the ones this brand is planning, but on various biodegradable plates and such I've noticed different times with exposure to foods. I'm assuming they'll be taking that into consideration. Regarding landfills, call me idealistic but I'd still like them to break down. Also, I guess I've seen too many places overseas both above and below the water line where these just blow around and build up. On reefs, in small lakes and ponds and out and about after having blown away with the wind. That alone is reason enough in my book. Everyone of course is entitled to their own opinion.
I was actually just today looking for recycled trash bags!
It's "bated" breath. As is short for abated.
I've heard that they wouldn't decompose anyway, since the waste in landfills is so tightly compacted. (?)
Thanks, Guest. See what happens when you spend most of your career working with very small children in countries where it's tough to find grown up English language reading material? And then add in a little sleep and coffee deprivation? Thanks for catching that one.
Again on the decomposition, regardless of the landfill question, there are many other areas where these would be a good bet and provide great break down benefits. I mentioned some of them above. Composting your dog's doo-doo would be another. Certainly, try to go cloth at the check out if you can, but if there's a shot at the other products being able to biodegrade, and a back up for the plastic checkout bags, I consider that a good thing. Make whatever choices work for you.
These things sound neat! Right now I use plastic grocery bags to line my trash cans (saves money and gets at least one more use out of the bags), but these things sound intriguing. I love things that use post-consumer material. I myself make jewelry and beads from old magazines. It's great to see how creative people can be!
http://www.gabrielgirl.etsy.com
As someone who is increasingly concerned about the health effects of the use of plastic for food storage, using plastic that breaks down quickly to store food, or adding decomposable plastics to a compost pile, seems to me like a horrible idea.
Plastic takes time to decompose period. Adding it to your compost would definitely be a bad move. I do not know what to do with the plastic other than landfills at this point but its got folks thinking!
I just checked out their website and thought everyone would be interested in the following claim:
"Perf Go Green Bags will completely break down in a landfill environment within 2 years leaving no residue or harmful toxins and have a shelf life of 2 years."
So maybe this addresses people's concerns about landfills not contributing to decomposition? I agree that I will try to minimize the use of plastic bags and recycle what I can, but for things like kitchen trash bags I think it is a great idea (since there really aren't any good alternatives for kitchen trash bags...). The drop cloth as well. If it started to fall apart or couldn't be reused, I'd have no problem putting it in my compost pile and actually I'm pretty curious to try that with some of this stuff and actually observe how quickly/not quickly it breaks down. Though I have to admit that I think old bedsheets still make the best drop clothes and we KNOW the cotton ones are decomposable! :P
For food storage, I just reuse plastic grocery bags (and if you want them to be clear, use the fruit and veggetable bags). And of course you can always save various containers that are reusable, such as yoghurt containers.
I won't be buying this green product.
I love the 13 gallon trash bags that Perf Go Green makes. They have handles & work just as well as regular “non-green” bags, but are biodegradable.
FYI GreenCupboards (online retailer of green, natural products) is having a sale--up to 40% off--on Perf Go Green products like this ... Check out the incredible sale (for a limited time) http://www.GreenCupboards.com/Specials
I would say that lots of companies are doing their best to manufacture plastic bags that are better for the environment.The company I represent, Jig-A-Loo, is no exception and has introduced a new line of plastic bags that are made from:
100% recycled plastic
100% oxodegradable
100% recyclable
These EconoGreen bags and drop cloths are manufactured with an additive that will completely break down the bag within 2 years after use. Considerably less than traditional plastic bags and especially grocery bags that we use as garbage bags.
For more information feel free to visit our website at http://www.jigaloo.com/ca/e_products_econogreen.php
perf go bads do not biodegrade they just break down into very tiny plastic pieces which can then leach into our groundwater: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/10/perf-go-green-biodegradable-plas...
I have been buying the identical green biodegradable bag but for about 10% of the cost. Check out Pride Green on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_0_9?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywo...
They are made with recycled plastic and use the same oxo-biodegradable process to biodegrade. Also, they have draw string trash bags, and large size bag for the yard, composting. Perf Go Green is .50 cents a bag. Pride Green is only .09 cents a bag. I like the fact that Pride Green doesn't punish the consumer for going green.
Pride Green are NOT BIODEGRADEABLE. Another scam. This product was chased off the market 15 years ago and a company Webster was actually sued for claiming it was.