Did you know that garbage bags used to be made of paper?  Some of us aren’t old enough to remember a time before plastic bags.  As much as I dislike the profusion of plastic today, I am glad that garbage bags are made of something less leaky than paper now!

A somewhat in-between alternative exists now, in BioBags.  These biodegradable trash bags are available in several sizes.  They’re designed to compost when placed in a commercial or municipal composting facility.  You can’t put hot liquids into them (because they’ll break down right away and not do their job!), but they’re a great alternative to plastic trash bags for other waste.  (You probably don’t want to leave your trash sitting around for too long in them, either, since they’re designed to break down.  You want them to do that after they get to the compost facility, not while they’re sitting in your house or garage.)

These can be a particularly useful option for those of you who, like me, have non-food types of waste that should be recyclable, but isn’t in your location.  (Our county won’t recycle paper.  Go figure.)  I can use these very easily in my office trash can, and not have to worry at all about something wet making my trash bags break down.

BioBag offers “tall kitchen” size bags, lawn & leaf bags, and 3-gallon bags for use with kitchen compost pails (which they also offer), as well as dog waste bags.  You can get them at some local retailers, such as Costco, Kroger, Walgreen’s, and Ace Hardware, or you can order them online at retailers like Amazon.com.  Remember, every little bit helps!  If you can’t afford to switch over an entire category of household product, just swapping out one package a year can make an impact, if we all do it!

(Side note: If you happen to have a small business, also look into their biodegradable shopping bags!)

Disclosure: BioBag USA provided me with some bags to try, to facilitate this post.  As always, all opinions expressed here are entirely my own.