While I've found an alternative for large kitchen trash bags that I feel really great about, the use of the smaller plastic bags for bathroom trash has remained a hurtle I didn't know how to jump. The solution remained elusive. Until now. By Jove, I think I've found it. Ready to take the leap with me?
I don't know if any of you have spent as much time scouring the internet for suggestions on this issue as I have, but the ideas out there are a bit dismal. Some hard core environmentalists have actually gotten brave enough to give up garbage bags altogether. While I have nothing but kudos to throw their way, the “ick” factor has kept me from doing that in all trash containers but the one in our office.
I've been dealing with my residual plastic bag dilemma by reusing the same bathroom trash liner as much as possible, but the truth is things eventually get gross enough where it just has to be tossed. Add to that the fact that I'm rapidly running out of smaller plastic bags since finding an affordable produce alternative, and you can start to see how quickly this situation is reaching critical mass at my house. I remain committed to reducing the plastic waste we generate however, which is why I've spent even more hours than usual this week searching for the tiniest glimmer of transitional hope. Turns out the seeds of inspiration came from a gift wrapping post I'm researching, and one of Wise Bread's readers.
I'll admit this was quite a search, and in the end I only found the solution by accident. My quest started when Malcom, a Wise Bread reader who commented on my plastic packaging reduction article, mentioned that store bought bread loaves used to come in waxed paper bags. (Malcom buddy, you didn't leave a link so I can't show the world how to find you.) This started me thinking about what other types of waxed paper bags were available. Three days later, I was still bringing up sandwich bags with my search queries, no matter how many ways I reworded what I was looking for. Today, on a whim, I added the word large. The result? Wahoo!
Turns out the receptacle liners that hospitals and other places use for bathroom litter disposal are frequently made out of unbleached waxed paper. From the pictures shown, they even have a flat bottom to help them stand up vertically. We have a few plastic bags to use up still, but are low enough on supply that I'll be ordering these ones from Amazon by the end of the week. At just under thirty dollars for a case of a few hundred, I can reuse them as much as possible and empty the contents only into the larger kitchen bag when we do the weekly check and dump of all smaller trash cans in the house. This should ensure our initial investment in the case of bags lasts us for several years. I'm excited. How about you?
This idea was also an unexpected find. I was researching super cool ways to go green with gift wrapping (stay tuned), and saw a link for a newspaper trash bin liner. Turns out there are a few different resources for this concept on the internet. So if you have an abundance of free labor at your house (children), this could be a free way to turn those Sunday papers you buy for coupons only into something that can help reduce your family's overall plastic consumption. Obviously they won't work for the super goopies, but can definitely be incorporated in the office, kids rooms and certain smaller trash containers. There are directions for tall and short varieties, as well as one or two additional video links to help you out. Personally, I think the taller ones have more of a shot at being functional in our house, but do what works for you.
I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. This one issue has been weighing on me for some time. Since we fell in love with the Perf Go Green bags I reviewed a while back for our kitchen trash, I ordered a case of them to last us for a good long while. But they aren't available in the small size and we're ready to make the transition. If this scenario is the same at your house, try these ideas out and keep me posted on the results. I'd love it if you'd share your success stories below, as well as any other unexpected solutions you've come up with. Let's hear it for going green with plastic reduction!
This article is part of Festival of Frugality's 2009 Memorial Day edition.
What a novel idea to get rid of plastic bags
My only concern is that a lot of my readers said that they used the bags to pick up dog poo....
And would this bag biodegrade in a landfill?
I just wonder if maybe we can reduce our trash down by what we buy, eat and if we just recycle more (after reducing first) in terms of composting etc
I can't compost in an apartment, but I am dying to do something like that...
I just ordered my first order of biodegradable dog poop bags. Check out dogpoop.com (nice url!). They decompose in the same time as an apple.
We've been using the biodegradable ones from Perf Go Green as well. But those ones that break down in the same time as an apple sound interesting too. Also, now that I've started paying more attention to the incidental plastic bags, there are a ton that come with things like crackers, beans, bulk spices, etc. So that would be a temporary solution for the dog poop dilemma while you picked out an affordable Earth friendly brand that you liked.
While they don't work for dog poo, I now have something to scoop my cat waste into. Because I use wheat-based litter, I can take the whole package and stick it into my digester (a composter that can take meat, bones and pet waste).
For non-wet/goopy trash, why do you even need a trash can liner?
I mean, really, why not just toss your trash into the trash can and then, on garbage day, empty that into the big trash can/bag and you're good to go? Every few months (or more, depending on what you put in the trash can and what material it's made of), it's probably not a bad idea to wash out the smaller trash can. My bathroom trash cans fit in my dish washer, so that works well. Clean them up and you're good to go, no liner needed.
Yikes... sorry, that does not sound higenic AT ALL!!! wash the BATHROOM trash can in the dishwasher? is your dishwasher sanitized afterwards?
I have been using an unlined metal trash can in the kitchen for months and I never really considered the 'ick' factor until I read your post. I asked around and apparently it does bother some family members a bit. At least I am the one who takes out the garbage.
Love your blog.
My last hurdle is used kitty litter. My town allows us to put unwrapped trash in our barrel for pickup, so I don't really need to use liners for the kitchen or bathroom. And I put all the compost in a covered bucket, anyway, so that's most of the "wet" trash. But the kitty litter... I just don't see an alternative to plastic bags right now, mainly because they can be tied closed. (I use plastic grocery sacks, but since you've been reminding me to take reusable bags shopping, I'm running low on those...) Anyone who has had used kitty litter spill en route to the trash barrel will know why that is important!
Any ideas? Or will this just have to be my final holdout until the cat expires?
Why not have a container you use to transfer the used kitty litter to the trash bin?
So, you scoop into the container (maybe a large metal can?) and then take the container to the bin and dump it in. This could cause some odor issues, depending on where your bin is, the temperature, how often your trash gets picked up, but it might be worth a try to see if it will work.
@ J, #7
Many (most?) grocery stores now have a bin in the entrance to the store where people can bring in their used plastic bags to be recycled. When I was taking care of a friend's cat for 6 months a while ago, I would grab used plastic bags from there to use for scooping the soiled cat litter into. I never had my own plastic grocery bags either since I always bring my own, but there's no drawback to using bags that other people have already used!
I don't have a cat, but when I test drove the Perf Go Green bags they sent a container of kitty litter liner bags in the box. I forwarded them to a cat owning friend, and she says they work well and are up to the task. However, if you were looking to skip them completely, that's probably not the type of suggestion you're looking for.
I'm in Australia and your reusable fruit & veg bag idea had me looking for a local alternative to plastic.
And I found a great source so I thought I would share.
I received my bags yesterday and used them straight away - they are great! The red ones are very small, but the others are a good size.
i don't use liners on anything but the kitchen garbage, i just wash small containers out when they need it. and i have eliminated the waste can in the bathroom altogether, if it can't be flushed, it goes in the kitchen trash. The kitchen trash can is a 5 gallon bucket - which discourages large volume trash.
Those look like a really great solution, particularly if you can't find the Tidy Totes there. Thanks for sharing.
Use used packaging, like empty pet food bags, cat litter bags, plastic wrapping that held toilet paper or paper towels etc for large cans, and smaller plastic bags for smaller cans (you're throwing them away anyway). That way you don't have to buy anything or do put any effort into making something.
I am totally going to use that origami bag idea - we have an unending supply of used-once plastic bags, since my ever-frugal mother uses them as filler for packages (and with a three year old in the house, the stream of packages from grandma is pretty constant.)
But we have to have paper bags to put our recycling out in, about 8 bags a month (metal, paper, glass, plastic x 2 pickups). Since I started using cloth bags, we are *always* out of paper bags for recycling. I'm going to make some origami "trash cans" and see if they'll hold up for recycling.
I'm with GT0163C, we only line our kitchen trash. Our trash is collected weekly, so on Wednesday nights we dump from the misc household cans into the big one. If something is going to be particularly dirty (like emptying the vacuum) we only do that into the kitchen bin. Everything else (hair from the drain, floss, pill wrappers) dries quickly enough to not make much mess in the bin. We wash the bins every so often.
The world seems to be in 2 camps: the liners and the unlined. I grew up unlined, as did my husband. My college roommates thought I was insane. Everyone's different.
I used discarded boxes from the office for garbage. For kitty litter, I use discarded paper bags (sandwich-sized, not grocery-sized).
My grandpa used paper grocery bags. He carefully folded the top over several times to make a lip and put folded newspaper in the bottom to absorb wet stuff. If the stuff inside was relatively dry he'd use the bag over and just dump the trash into the large trash can for pick up. If it was messy, he'd toss the whole shebang.
I guess I'm sort of in the lined camp when it comes to bathroom trash. I guess if you didn't care if it were waxed and small enough to fit in a trash can, you could buy the paper ones in bulk at the warehouse store. I've seen them there for pretty cheap. It wouldn't be like you'd go through as many of them as you would grocery shopping, because as you said, you could keep dumping them out and making the most of the stash you had. They could go in the under the sink cabinet for those who have those, or the bathroom pantry closet (assuming you have one of those too).
I am a bit surprised that folks reading this blog would have enough used newspapers to make trash cans or liners from... don't you all read the newspaper online? I canceled my Times subscription and read it online to save money and waste. (Recycling takes energy too!) Of course, I don't usually clip coupons. (I buy generics and buy in bulk whenever possible, so I don't use many coupons.)
Thanks for all the solutions to my kitty litter conundrum. I think the one that will work best for us is to scavange all the used packaging that comes through the house: open the bath tissue package with scissors instead of rrrrrripping it apart, and re-use the bag, reuse the bags the catfood and litter come in (I already do that one), and so forth.
In my experience, putting the used litter straight into the barrel doesn't work well. Our trash barrels get dumped into the garbage truck by a robotic arm on the truck, and somehow a little bit of the litter always gets scattered onto the street if it's not in some sort of bag. It also sticks like cement to the bottom of the can if there's any moisture.
The Sunday paper is usually thicker, J. I think that's why. And many folks only need one to do them for the week, so there is more than enough paper even from just the Sunday one.
I cannot do the unlined garbage can, our garbage haulers mandate it must be in bags. Also we have a huge garbage can for the pick up and would be impossible to clean it all the time.
As far as no trash can in the bathroom, to me that is ick. I am a woman and I am not going to walk through the house to throw my feminine products away. Nor would I want anyone visiting to have to do that.
I just recently made the switch to Softpaws kitty litter from littlebitsinc.com. 100% natural & it goes straight to the compost bin, not the trash. It absorbs odor as well as any other litter I've ever used & my cat loves it.
I realize your wanting to steer clear of plastic bags as much as possible, but I thought I would throw this out there anyway.I would said that lots of companies are doing their best to manufacture plastic bags that are better for the environment and the company I represnt is no exception.
This company, Jig-A-Loo, is introducing a new line of plastic bags that are made from:
100% recycled plastic
100% oxodegradable
100% recyclable
These EconoGreen bags and drop cloths consist of an additive that will completely break down the bags within 2 years after use. Considerably less than traditional plastic bags and especially grocery bags that we use as garbage bags.
For more information visit our website at http://www.jigaloo.com/ca/e_products_econogreen.php
Isn't wax paper still paper? Why did we stop using paper bags at the grocery store? Because they had to cut down many many many trees to produce them. Well that's not really why I suppose, but I'm not sure paper is any kind of plastic alternative.
Yes, it is still paper. And you raise a good point. My approach on this was to find a way to stop using the plastic option because of the damage it causes. Personally, I fell I purchase so little packaging in other areas, that I'm OK with using waxed paper for this situation.
That being said, there are some people who skip the trash bag all together. I'm just not there yet. The idea just feels yucky to me. We are working on reducing other areas however, and do compost, so perhaps at some point we'll transition to the "no trash bags at all" camp. But we're just not there yet. Thanks for stopping by.
I wanted to comment on the response below, but waxed paper... Where does wax come from, especially the wax from the hospital liners you linked on Amazon? Looks like wax is from either bees wax or paraffin wax, and the hospital stuff is more likely paraffin wax and paraffin is derived from petroleum? I think you haven't found the right substitute for plastic bags yet... Source: http://www.generalwax.com/candle-making/about-candle-wax.php
My family of four only uses one large bag of trash a week, if that. ALL food scraps & whatever we sweep up off the floor goes into compost in the back yard. Everything recycleable goes into the blue recycle bin, everything else goes into trash can. We don't use can liners for anything except the trash can, though we probably don't need it (Hubs is still insisting on it). The bathroom & laundry room bins are bag free, are emptied every week & washed out by hand if they need. If you have something slimy in the bathrrom, you just have to take it to the kithen trash...not a big deal. We don't use a liner for the cloth diapers either; that can is also washed each week or so with baking soda & vinegar. There is little to no need to ever use trash bags in most areas of the house.
Great read! I have the same issue with avoiding trash liners - the "ick factor" and its quite true that there aren't any alternatives out there. I run a search for a bagless trash can and came across a youtube video that I thought was interesting. I mean this trash can would be ideal for me especially cuz it supposedly has a built in cleaning system so i wouldn't have to get my hands all in there (shudder!). I also though it was pretty cool that it has a bottom disposal mechanism ... interesting ha?
Thanks again for your post, btwn- loved the origami newspaper bag :)
Okay, I've turned what was our garbage bin into a recycling bin and find we can recycle MOST of our trash - yay! I just can't get into the rotting so there is some waste, though most things can be garbage disposal-ed. Okay, we have the reduce, recycle and rot addressed.
That leaves the re-use conundrum when it comes to plastic bags - I live in a HOT climate and only have garbage waste removal once a week, so gathering up the little clumps of love outside is not a pleasant thought. I would have some apprehension about spending a lot of money on bags I'm going to fill with excrement. Thoughts?
Still need something other than plastic bag to put in the bin for collection. Open-ended bags won't work where I live -- we have high winds almost all the time, and so we need something that "cinches closed" to put into the big garbage bin. If we don't, trash is blown all over the neighborhood when the garbage truck dumps it into the back of the truck. Maybe keeping the "inside" bags down is the best we can do.....
