Ever wonder how long it takes one of your plastic garbage bags to decompose? Sadly, they never completely decompose, they simply break down into smaller and smaller pieces.
Some brands have made trash bags that are made from plant-based polymers like corn and potatoes. There are also recycled trash bags, biodegradable bags, and compostable bags.
Brands include:
- Seventh Generation Trash Bags
- EarthSense Recycled Plastic Trash Bags
- Stor-A-File Compostable Trash Bags
- Pridegreen Biodegradable Trash bags
- Biobag Compostable Bags
Other plastic fun facts:
- Ireland introduced a 15 cent per bag tax on disposable plastic shopping bags in 2002 and bags have been reduced by more than 100 million bags per year.
- San Francisco banned plastic grocery bags in 2007, saving 450,000 gallons of oil per year and preventing 1,400 tons of waste from landfills.
- If every American household replaced a 20-count package of trash bags with 80% recycled trash bags we would save 81,000 barrels of oil, equivalent to the amount of oil used to heat and cool 4,700 US homes for a year.
Information from this article from Easy Green Living by Renee Loux.
Thanks for this post! I always wonder how well those biodegradable bags really decompose when they’re in a landfill, where they’re not likely to be exposed to air or sunlight. Is it worth the extra cost?
Personally, I just try to reduce the amount of trash we create by recycling, reusing and composting as much as possible.
I agree, they probably don’t decompose much in a landfill, but if they are made with less plastic than regular versions I guess it is something! Reducing the amount of trash you are creating is key though.