Monday, September 1, 2008

One Strong Garbage Bag

I recently signed up with FreeGreenCleaners.com to review environmentally friendly cleaning solutions. I'm really excited about this opportunity because Kansas Dad and I do try to clean without too many chemicals, especially around the kids.

Recently, I received a sample of these biodegradable trash bags from the GreenOfficeStore.com.

According to the promotional material, these bags will fully degrade in commercial landfills (degrading in approximately 36 months, depending on the available oxygen and microbial activity present). Of course, I don't have the ability to test those claims myself, but I do have some trash around here, so I pulled them out last week and starting filling them up.

I found some sharp corners to drop in there along with some heavier garbage and hefted them around the house. I was very pleased to find they handled the weight and the corners exceptionally well without any tears! Frankly, though I like the idea of a "green" garbage bag, I want one that's not going to tear and leak on its way out the door and these bags seem to fit the bill. (I wish I had thought to take a picture of the full bag...I'll remember to do that the next time I review a garbage bag.)

You'll see from the link the bags are $22.75 for a box (which I believe holds 120 bags). I wanted to do a price comparison with some conventional brands, but just haven't had a chance to get to the store with a little free time to browse the garbage bag aisle. I would guess these are more expensive, but if you've made an effort to decrease your trash, as we have, you should find a box lasts quite a while. The next time we need bags, I'll consider them, but will need to do a price comparison. (If cost is an issue for you, work on decreasing the amount of trash. We've found that makes a big difference in the number of garbage bags we use and is always a good way to be kind to the earth and a good steward of God's resources.)

If you're in the market for an environmentally-friendly garbage bag, I would definitely recommend these. They can handle being full to the brim.