Eco-friendly trash bag: Eco-friendly garbage bags are made of different materials such as recycled plastics, recycled LLDPE, cloth or paper.
Getting rid of plastic waste bags is a difficult task even for the best and most equipped plastic shredders. Having a trash can without plastic is not very cool. Not using plastic bags causes pollution and bad smell of the garbage can. In this case, the trash can should be washed regularly. Therefore, in most countries, municipalities encourage people to use garbage bags so that garbage does not fall out of the trash cans and end up in the waterways.
Eco-friendly trash bag
According to research conducted by the Nova Institute on the bioplastics market, compostable plastic bags are mainly used in Europe for shopping and collecting bio-waste. The market of this eco-friendly garbage bag also dominates the market of vegetable disposable containers. They accounted for about two-thirds of the total market of 100,000 tons of biodegradable plastic products sold in 2015. The market of compostable and biodegradable plastic products (such as plant containers) can increase to more than three hundred thousand tons in 2020. For the development of this market, the legal framework and infrastructure of the EU member states are either the bottleneck or the main driver of market development.
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Here is the main question. Do we really need garbage bags? Ideally not. But it depends on your situation. If you compost food, donate unwanted items and avoid non-recyclables, you are theoretically not producing waste. In the words of B. Johnson in his book Zero Waste about how one of his methods of refusing to produce waste is: “I’m sorry, but I don’t have a trash can.” But you have to be realistic. This can be very difficult. Most of us still produce some waste. Even if you only produce a small amount of dry waste, you may have a way to keep it together to minimize the risk of it being blown around on a windy day, so it’s important to be aware of alternatives.
What is the best alternative to plastic bags?
So, what should you do when you’re trying to live as eco-friendly a lifestyle as possible? As with most zero waste practices, use what you have. Use as much as you can and think about non-plastic alternatives. Using an environmentally friendly garbage bag is one of these methods.
Paper garbage bag
In many countries, it is easy to find bags made from recycled paper online or even locally. These are your paper grocery bags or paper lunch bags that you’ve probably used on more than one occasion in the past.
Paper trash bags are a sustainable option. Because paper is an environmentally friendly material. It is easily decomposed and recyclable. The paper can be reused as long as it does not get wet. But in the process of producing paper, more energy is consumed than plastic. A report shows that compared to plastic bags, you need to use a paper bag at least three times to make it eco-friendly. Now if you have recycled paper bags, know that these bags are environmentally friendly. Paper bags on wheels or recycled garbage bags are recyclable. So don’t worry about throwing them away.
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The advantage of using paper bags is that they do not cost extra. Also, paper breaks down better in a landfill than “compost” or “biodegradable” bags. These bags help the paper recycling cycle. But the problem with paper bags is that many people don’t have paper bags to recycle. These bags may also become more expensive over time.
If you still receive newspapers or have old newspapers, you can roll them into waste bins and you will have a paper waste bin. Because newspaper is thin, it breaks down faster than most paper bags and doesn’t cost extra.
Plastic bags made from plastic waste
Sometimes – for one reason or another – you need a large plastic trash bag and you don’t have any that are big enough. In this case, using garbage bags made from other plastic waste can help. Outside of Iran, there are several brands such as Hippo Sak that offer trash bags made from plastic collected from oceans and beaches.
Garbage bags from another brand, Seventh Generation, are made from 55% recycled plastic. And Evolution trash bags are made from 70% recycled LLDPE. Although these bags are not completely zero waste, they are still accepted as environmentally friendly garbage bags. These plastics help to clean the oceans and rivers. But since the process of recycling and collecting them is expensive, they may become more expensive in the future.
Reusable garbage bags
Cloth bags are washable and reusable like cloth bags. You can use waste fabrics that are no longer usable and make fabric bags with them. In fact, this type of sewing is so beginner that even If you just want to learn, you can do it. But if you are a professional, you can use this idea to develop an eco-friendly business and earn money. By doing this, you also prevent the production of waste.
Other options for eco-friendly trash bags
To begin with, the best thing to do is not to use plastic bags. Or if you know a place that recycles plastic, drop off your plastic bags. Otherwise, remove the plastic bags from your garbage that end up in landfills anyway. By doing this, you give the plastics a new life. As a result, you reduce the total amount of plastic sent to landfills.
last word
Earth-friendly trash bags may not be as stylish as you picture them. But if you want to be trash free, you may find alternatives to bioplastics that are actually very useful. Don’t be afraid to mix and match solutions either – use the recycling process when you can and find the most ecological solution when you can’t. To have an environmentally friendly lifestyle, you can use an environmentally friendly garbage bag. It may seem overwhelming to do everything that was written here. You can choose several things that can be done for you. The important thing is to start. Whatever your choice is, it will definitely help to save the environment.
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