What do you use instead of paper/plastic bags as trash bags?

Question

I grew up using the plastic/paper bags from the store as trash bags at home. They are a simple way to save money verse buying trash bags. However, since I want to use a tote/string bag, I would run out of bags soon. lol What do you use??

Wow, thanks for the advice.
actually my personal car gets 36MPG avg.

Wow, this question is like pulling teeth from you guys.
I live a apartment, we use a big dumpster.
I live in a town where they don't recycle much, they have this bin that is always full.
Also, since I live in an apartment I don't have a yard where I can recycle my food scrapes as fertilizer. k?

Answer 1

Well, I sense you're frustrated with the answers you've recieved so far. I use the grocery bags, but the cardboard box idea is a good idea. You could even get them at the store to carry your grocery items home in.
Because it seems you want to recycle, but you can't because of the apartment bin being full situation try this: Get a garbage disposal for the food scraps, flatten all trash you do get. Hey, how about a sorting system that you keep in closet that you can fill then take to your recycling site yourself?

No matter what, you should think about talking to the apartment manager about the recycling situation and see if it can be improved.
Good luck!

Answer 2

Well, you can only do what is within your means and availability to do. You could become an activist, and start a recycling program suited to the community. I like the cardboard box idea for regular trash. Try to purchase things in bulk to cut down on packaging that gets thrown away. Reuse what you can. Find a way to make a compost site...maybe a large area where people have a group compost site, take turns dropping stuff off at the site?? Alot of good ideas here...just do as much as you can! Good topic.

Answer 3

Just because you live in an apartment doesn't mean that you can't compost. there is a way that doesn't smell and reduces your trash. get a plastic tote from walmart, and drill holes in the lid about 2 in apart covering the entire thing, then drill holes 2 inches down all the way around. fill with dirt then buy worms, you can discard coffee grounds all food waste except meats, you can then store this bin under your sink...the worms will eat all your food waste and turn it into soil that you can use to help your plants thrive...good luck to you i hope that you start composting soon!!

Answer 4

recycle as much as I can. glass, aluminum, paper and cardboard.

food (food except meat) is composted, that gets turned back into my garden.

So there's not much garbage to begin with ;-)

I do use trash bags, but buy recycled.

Any misc plastic bags I have or get at stores get re-used for the dog waste on walks.

Shopping I use large cloth bags for most trips.

Answer 5

I have a plastic collapsing trash can that I put everything in and carry out to the trash. I use it instead of trash bags. It's great, I don't have to buy trash bags !

Answer 6

I think you should start buying the plastic trash bags when your supply of free bags from the storesis gone. Unless you can completely eliminate organic waste in your trash, storing the trash in plastic trash bags minimize odor, and other health concerns for yourself and your community. It's still the proper way to dispose our regular household waste in general.

Answer 7

At Office Depot, in the receiving area (where there ends up being a lot of extra trash), I use cardboard boxes to throw all my trash in.

You could even seal it up when your done and put it by the curb with a big TRASH written on it. Or just tell your garbage man so he knows to pick it up.

Recycling more too helps you have less stuff to discard!

Answer 8

Use a garbage can with a tight fitting lid. Any garbage that you can't recycle should be placed in it until it is taken and dumped into a cardboard box and placed in your dumpster. Back in the day, garbage cans were used but there was no liner of plastic inside them (no garbage bags) and they were washed out periodically to keep the smell down.

Answer 9

I use plastic and will continue to do so. It is a form of carbon sequestration since once the bag is buried in a landfill, the carbon in the fossil fuels used to make the bag can never be burned to create CO2.

Answer 10

I don't have "trash." I recycle all food scraps, except meat (which goes to my dogs), into compost. I recycle paper, plastic, glass, metals, and anything else that's recyclable.
I shop, using cloth bags for my purchases, donate, recycle or change my clothing (I sew).