Eco-Friendly Garbage Bags for Different Uses + Households

When we began living a more sustainable life, we began considering eco-friendly garbage bags and whether they were worth it financially and functionally.

Why Consider Eco-friendly Garbage Bags?

Let’s first discuss why you should consider an alternative to your traditional plastic trash bags. We get it. We used to roll our eyes at the thoughts of all of this.

Plastic garbage bags add a ton of waste to our already very full and wasteful landfills. In fact, plastic makes up over 35 million tons of waste in our landfills.

Depending upon your situation, there are options that will make a bigger impact on reducing even more waste. It sounds a little off, right? Reducing waste by finding a receptacle for our waste! It’s true, though.

Your decision to switch to an eco-friendly option can make a difference.

The Best Option For Your Household Needs

Depending on where in your home you are disposing of waste, you have various options. Let’s go through your home and talk about what is best.

1. Kitchen Trash, Scraps, + Compostable Trash

First, please consider composting your food waste and reusing your compost in your garden before throwing something in a trash can or bag. There are some other options for the kitchen that are always better than a traditional plastic bag.

You can also review our best kitchen compost bins for purchase options.

• Best Choice: Compostable Trash Bags
• Why Compostable Bags? Perfect for kitchen scraps or any biodegradable waste because they’re designed to break down in composting conditions, reducing landfill waste.
• Recommended Use: These are ideal if you have access to a community compost program and do not have a home composting system.
• Tips for Use: Compostable bags can break down faster, so use them only for waste you’ll be disposing of soon. Store them in a cool, dry place.
• Other eco-friendly kitchen swap– While you are in the kitchen, consider an alternative to aluminum foil.

2. Bathroom Trash Cans

We opted not to have waste bags inside our bathroom trash cans. Our background is made up of families that used traditional plastic bags from the grocery store for bathroom bins.

We did that until we began learning more about the damage plastic does to our planet. If you cannot eliminate the need for a bag in your trash, here is an option for you.

• Best Choice: Recycled Plastic Bags- Grocery Store Reuse or Biodegradable Bags
• Why Recycled Bags? Bags made from recycled plastic can handle the dry, lightweight trash often found in bathrooms without needing to be heavy-duty.
• Recommended Use: Since bathroom trash is often low in volume and mostly dry, you don’t need compostable or heavy-duty options, making recycled bags a good fit.
• Tips for Use: Avoid tossing wet or biodegradable items here to keep these bags easy to handle and minimize odor.

3. Yard Waste + Garden Clippings

In our town, we can put our yard waste and clippings in a pile by the curb to be picked up once a week. We love a zero waste option! If that is not an option for you, and you have to place your yard waste inside 

• Best Choice: Heavy-Duty Paper Compostable Bags
• Why Compostable for Yard Waste? Yard waste like leaves, branches, and grass clippings can go into compost or be collected as “green waste.” Heavy-duty compostable bags are durable enough for tougher materials.
• Recommended Use: Use these for yard clean-up days; many cities even require compostable bags for green waste collection.
• Extra Tip: Avoid mixing non-compostable items here so everything can break down smoothly in the composting process.

4. Pet Waste (Dog Poop + Cat Litter)

Don’t be a jerk and leave poop on the grass or sidewalk when you are walking your pup. We love our pups like they were our human babies, and you wouldn’t let your kid poop on the sidewalk, would you?

• Best Choice: Biodegradable or Compostable Pet Waste Bags
• Why Biodegradable Bags? Standard plastic can sit in landfills forever, while biodegradable and compostable bags will break down over time, especially when exposed to sunlight and air.
• Recommended Use: For dog walks, cat litter, or any pet cleanup. Make sure the bags are biodegradable or compostable since many “green” pet waste bags don’t actually break down and are no different from plastic bags.
• Considerations: Biodegradable and compostable bags are still best for landfills, not your garden compost, since pet waste can contain pathogens. When it comes to your cat’s litter, consider biodegradable options like Catalyst Natural Soft Wood Litter.

5. General Household Trash (Non-Recyclables)

Assuming you have gone through the 5 Rs: reduce, reuse, repurpose, or recycle and you still have trash, we get it. We don’t know of a home that is void of some sort of trash. We have some options for you in this arena.

• Best Choice: Recycled or Biodegradable Trash Bags
• Why This Option? General trash can be bulky and unpredictable in contents, so you’ll want a reliable bag with minimal impact. These come in a range of kitchen sizes to 30 gallon bags.
• Recommended Use: Choose biodegradable if your city’s landfill can handle it; otherwise, recycled content bags are a safe, sturdy option for regular garbage.
• Pro Tip: Try to reduce general trash by keeping recyclables, compostables, and reusables separate.

6. Travel or On-the-Go Bags

As travelers, it is our goal to be eco-friendly travelers. We never want to leave a place worse than we found it. In fact, we are the people who pick up trash on our walks, especially living by the ocean. We want to leave our planet better than we found it.

If you are traveling or spending some time road-tripping, here are some options for you.

• Best Choice: Leak-proof Car Trash Bin or Dog Poop Bags
• Why Compact Bags? These are great for road trips, hikes, or even a day at the beach—places where eco-friendly disposal is still important.
• Recommended Use: Keep them in your car or backpack for quick disposal while staying eco-conscious. The trash bin can stay in your car, and you can empty it whenever you stop or at the end of your trip.
• Travel Tip: Look for compact options that are easy to stash but sturdy enough for any small trash you pick up along the way.

Go Eco-Friendly With Your Trash

Going eco-friendly with garbage bags and the way you dispose of your trash can be tailored to your lifestyle.

Please consider experimenting with one or more of these options. When you make small but meaningful changes that work best for their household, you are making a big impact on the well-being of our planet.

FAQs | Frequently Asked Questions