Unfortunately, not everything can be recycled. However, that doesn’t mean that everything else needs to be thrown in plastic bags that will be lying around for years. Instead, consider using biodegradable trash bags for everything that can’t be recycled.
Since plastic bags have only been around for about fifty years , there’s no definite answer as to how long it takes them to break down, but estimates of between 500 to 1,000 years have been stated. You don’t want to see all of those plastic bags piling up in landfills, and remaining there for years and years, right? In that case, you should consider switching to biodegradable trash bags.
There are some different types of biodegradable trash bags (with different sizes to meet your needs), and they can decompose in as little as a couple of weeks, and up to several months. While it might sound like a longer time frame than you had hoped for, it’s still significantly shorter than waiting for normal plastic bags to decompose.
There is a possible problem that has come up with using the biodegradable trash bags: they have been known to break more easily than plastic bags. This is especially true if the bags are filled with liquids, even small amounts, such as the liquid left on tea bags. It can be frustrating to deal with, and can make using the biodegradable bags less effective, if you end up needing to use several bags for a small amount of trash. This problem can be remedied by lessening the amount of liquids you place in each bag, and by using a smaller trash bin, which forces you to empty it more frequently.
If you’ve decided you can’t live another day without biodegradable trash bags, you can order them from BioBag (which is just one of the retailers that offer these bags).
Thanks for Sharing Patricia. I am totally agree with your article. Bio Bags are eco-friendly then plastic bags and Biodegradable trash bags tend to decompose quite quickly, so if an animal gets to them or if they end up in the water, relatively little harm should be caused. This is an important
”However, that doesn’t mean that everything else needs to be thrown in plastic bags that will be lying around for years. Instead, consider using biodegradable trash bags for everything that can’t be recycled.”
This is Good idea.. Patricia Beaumont
Thnx for sharing..
Thanks for reaching out. The only smaller size biodegradable bags I was able to find, came from the website reuseit.com and were about 4 gallons in size. Hope this helps. Thanks.
I’ve noticed most companies that sell biodegradable trash bags sell them in size 13 gallon or larger. I like your idea about using a smaller trash bin, which makes sense if you are trying to reduce how much trash you produce by recycling and composting. But I haven’t been able to find small sustainable trash bags. Have you? Thanks.