By implementing easy green practices like composting and recycling, my husband and I quit taking huge bags of trash out to the dumpster in the alley a long time ago. We had a stockpile of evil plastic grocery bags that we used for the bathroom and kitchen trash, but we quit getting our groceries in plastic bags a long time ago. When the stockpile ran out, we needed a green alternative to buying trash bags.

For a while, we used a brand of corn-based trash bags purchased at our local green general store, but, truth be told, they were flimsy and couldn’t hold much weight, even when I double-bagged. When I used the smaller kind to line the compost mini-bin under the sink, I found myself a bag that broke down a little too quickly, leaving me with a bio-mess.

It was a catch-22 when Portland’s Trellis Earth sent me a sample pack of their corn-based biodegradable bags to review. Simply put, this bag blows the other bag I was using out of the water. It comes in a variety of sizes, from small enough for a few pieces of fruit to 33-gallon commercial trash bags, and it’s remarkably sturdy–so much so that I easily carried out the entire contents of my cat’s litter box to the dumpster with no stretching or straining on the part of the bag. In fact, I’d test the strength of their 33-gallon bags against any traditional plastic trash bag. They also have a shopping-bag with handles, identical in size and shape
to the pesky plastic bags you see blowing in the wind for businesses to use in lieu of traditional petroleum-based bags.

What’s the catch? It’s not widely-available in consumer-sized quantities. Trellis Earth only markets its biodegradable bags, take-out containers, and cutlery in bulk quantities, making them a viable options to businesses and resellers, but their resell base seems limited. Minor catch #2: although the bags are compostable (they’re breaking down just fine in my backyard pile), the company’s FAQ warns that the bags aren’t great for building soil.

How can you get your hands on some Trellis Earth bags? You could buy in bulk (it’s not inconceivable if you are used to buying large quantities of things) Ask your local green store to stock up by giving them Trellis Earth’s website, which will get them in touch with the company. They can resell you bags, or they could purchase shopping bags for use in their store. Either way, you’re putting less plastic in landfills.