When shopping for trash bags, look for recycled plastic or compostable options. 

Materials

‍Plastic

Plastic is made of crude oil, which requires extracting petroleum – aka drilling and fracking, which have a host of negative environmental consequences that are not infrequent and can devastate already fragile wildlife populations. The environmental effects of drilling overwhelmingly impact people of color and low-income folks, who are more likely to live in communities near these sites. On top of this, all plastic trash bags will break down into microplastics, which we hate. 

Recycled Plastic

That said, a recycled plastic trash bag is better than a virgin plastic trash bag. We aim to use products made out of post-consumer recycled materials as much as possible, and this is a great opportunity to do so. As a rule of thumb, the higher the percentage of recycled plastic content the bag contains, the better. 

Bio-plastic

Trash bags made of bio-based plastic (aka not made of fossil fuels) are a great option if you are willing to pay a little extra, as they’re typically more expensive. We love them because they don’t break down into microplastics, but be warned that any bio-based plastic will emit methane when it gets to landfill because of the organic material.