Since we’re ‘super recyclers’ around the Mom Goes Green home, we go through trash bags very slowly, but I’ve always been bothered by the idea of anything that does need to be tossed in the trash because sometimes I do feel forced into a plastic trash bag!… blech!
Lately I’ve used Hefty Renew bags (since, at least, they’re made of 65% recycled plastic) but there’s a new bag in town, baby!… thanks to Green Genius I discovered their fantastic BIODEGRADABLE trash bags in a local store and I’m hooked!
They’re made from less recycled plastic (40%), but did you happen to notice I said BIODEGRADABLE?!? Their tricky little ingredient is called EcoPure (a blend of organic materials) that actually turns the bags into food for microbes in landfills… (loving it!) The EcoPure bonds with the plastic, literally making it consumable for the microbes that break it down into simpler organic matter (loving it more!). The bag becomes entirely edible, only the simplest organic matter remains and the bag has been biodegraded (total love fest!!!).
Is it affordable, you ask? Oh yes, my friends… about 20 cents per bag which is completely in line with all of the major brands of regular trash bags. Here is a list of stores, but I’m betting there are more, since my retailer (Discount Drug Mart, found all around Ohio) wasn’t even listed!
Keep your eyes peeled because I’m thinking, before long, this bag will be available everywhere! And then think about it… hmmm?… a biodegrading bag or, oh… one that lasts an eternity in a landfill(?!)… I think you’ll want to be a “Green Genius” too!!!
Disclosure Policy
Aarrrghhh!!! They’re only available in tall and outdoor sizes. I don’t generate enough trash to fill a tall kitchen bag in a week, and I can’t let fish skins sit around that long. I really need these things in a small garbage bag!
Gus – how about their gallon bags? (yes, they have food storage bags too!) You could zipper away that smell of fish skins and still know the bag is biodegradable!
Just want to make 100% sure these are different from other “biodegradeable bags” that I THOUGHT would degrade, but need very high heat to degrade, which most local processors don’t have (including ours, I called and asked) and which don’t degrade in home composters for the same reason. This sounds different, but before I jump on board, please confirm. Sounds terrific! I’m sure they’ll start making smaller bags once they catch on.
Thanks!
I just read an article about these. They sound great, but really when you are just sending your regular trash in them to the landfill they don’t break down much faster than a regular trash bag. So yes, although I would definitely opt for them over regulars, I might take recycled content into more of consideration than biodegradability.
Now the idea is sound. There are microbes who eat petroleum in small quantities. Our current experience in the gulf explains that a natural process manages “small amounts”. Tar balls are a final sort of stage before the microbes can try and “eat” the stuff. If the target microbes are aerobic then this isn’t going to work.
To Gus, http://www.chartreuseshop.com has several different sizes. They even have them for doggie waste!
Lynn – this is the “real deal!” Take a look at the Green Genius site (link within the post) for more details. I believe they even have a certification that proves it’s the real thing!
Marisa – these are truly different because of the EcoPure. I would definitely choose these over regular trash bags even if there is a smaller percentage of recycled content. The biodegradability is the key… even if other trash bags have more recycled content, what good is that if it never breaks down into simple organic matter… you don’t agree?
Unfortunately, according to people who know how today’s modern landfills work, buying biodegradable bags is pointless and a waste of your money. Here’s an excerpt from one article (just search on “biodegradable bags landfill” to find more):
“You’d think putting waste in a biodegradable bag would be better for landfills. That’s what manufacturers of such bags would have you believe. After all, once the bags decompose, they pretty much disappear from the landfill, right? Wrong. Everything but the stuff that sits on the very top of landfills is sealed off from oxygen by the mass of materials around it, says Peter Spendelow, a solid-waste policy analyst with Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality. ‘If a bag is intended to go into a landfill, there’s absolutely no reason to make it biodegradable.’”
Add A Comment