Green Garbage

A recent blog post I read brought a matter to my attention, which I had not given much thought to before. In fact, I don't think I had EVER thought of it before. The issue? Trash bags.

For most of us, they are an integral part of our life. And according to calculations, they’ll be a big part of our life for a long time. That trash bag we put out last night will most likely be around for the next 500-1,000 years. That's got me thinking about our trash set-up.

Our family doesn’t produce tons of trash, but I’d say we fill up one, sometimes two, kitchen trash bags a week. I know that doesn’t sound like much, but when I think about the big picture and how much that starts to add up over time, it becomes a bit more disconcerting.

So, what alternatives are out there?

Biodegradable trash bags, which claim to take two years or less to decompose, are popping up on store shelves. These green bags come at a price and, according to many reviews, don’t hold up as well. Additionally, a key factor to the decomposition of these bags is exposure to sun and air. And I would guess the chances of my garbage bag being exposed to the necessary air and sun for two years isn’t that likely in a landfill. But at least that option is out there.

Then a thought hit me: Society hasn’t always used trash bags. In fact, we’ve only had the luxury of disposable garbage bags since their invention in 1950. So prior to 1950, what did everybody do?

Well, what better way to find out than to ask someone who was familiar with waste practices in the early 20th century. So, I e-mailed my grandpa. He had great information to share.

During the 30’s and 40’s, people would commonly burn their waste in vented oil drums. Additionally, private haulers would come and remove what didn’t burn. Food waste was composted. Brown paper bags and newspaper were used to wrap messy waste before putting it in the kitchen trash can.

In the 50’s, my grandpa bought his first garbage can - the large, metal kind. Around the same time, the city started their garbage pick-up service. They continued to compost and use newspaper or brown paper bags to wrap messy waste. Periodically, they would rinse the can and pour the water at the edge of their garden. During war years, recycling was big.

So after all my research, I’m really interested in going bagless.

Here are a few tips I’ve picked up along the way:

• Compost acceptable food waste. This limits what you throw out, is beneficial for your soil and reduces messy, smelly substances that come in contact with your trash can.

• Recycle what you can to reduce what is thrown out.

• Line the bottom of your trashcan with several layers of newspaper to absorb and liquids that do make it into your trash can. (Don’t subscribe to the paper? Check your local library to see what they do with old newspapers or ask some who does subscribe to save theirs for you.)

• Wrap non-compostable waste that is messy or smelly in newspaper or a brown paper bag before putting it in the trashcan.

What if your place of residence requires trash to be bagged and you want to be greener? Then the biodegradable bags might be your best option. Additionally, reducing your waste will help limit trash disposal greatly.

So, what tips do you have for going bagless? And what alternative methods to disposing of trash are you using?