apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

i know in dc, you are required to have everything bagged in your outside cans.

In Canada we have Dollarama which is an amazing dollar store with everything including a pack of biodegradable garbage liners for $1 of course! i dont know if they really are though...has anyone else heard of such a thing?

we use bags only for our kitchen trash can and dump our other trash into that. it helps that our bathroom step can has a removable plastic bucket.

we have a related problem though: we run low on bags for the dirty kitty litter.

we minimize the use of trash can liners as much as possible and only use them for our bathroom and kitchen. for kitty litter, we use bread bags.

Ha ha, I had the same problem for a while. Lately I've been forgetting my grocery bags and so have a stash of the darn plastic ones. You may be able to find recycled (or partially)trash bin liners... I think mine are Hefty... admittedly, it's the lesser of two evils.

Now for kitty litter... if you're talking about changing out the whole box (as opposed to the daily poopscoops) a bread sack will not do it. Maybe you could buy/reuse a plastic bucket with lid to keep the dirty litter in until the kitchen bag is nearly full, or take it directly to your outdoor bin.

Or, could you use the receptacle the litter comes in? Obviously it would have to be about the size of a single catbox change. Save a bag/box, pour the old litter into it, replace the litter and save the new bag/box for the next time.

I've looked into the eco trash bags but my parents wouldn't go for it.

For the kitty litter we use those biodegradable poop bags from petco. Considering its like a clay type of litter I know its still not good but at least its not wrapped in pure plastic.

I tried refilling the empty fresh step bucket with used cat litter, and it turns out, wouldn't you know: wet cat litter weighs more than dry? That thing weighed a FREAKING TON, I swear. And that was the 20 lb. bucket. Last time I went to Petsmart, they had a 40 lb. size, which I can barely lift as it is. I'm still struggling with the kitty litter dilemma, is what I'm saying. AND my garbage men would HATE me if I dumped kitchen & kitty garbage directly into in my curb cans.

I am too frugal to buy poop bags when I can get them for free, so for now, on about every third trip to the grocery store, I leave the reusable bags in the car.

Hopefully some wise person will have the eco-perfect garbageman- and wallet-friendly solution. I'm keeping an eye on this thread.

http://www.petco.com/product/105489/Fresh-Kitty-Biodegradable-Litter-Box-Liners.aspx

Here are some biodegradable litter box liners from PetCo. Now that I've found them, I might go see if they'll fit the BoodaDome!

Drycleaner's bags, one large trash bin lined and all other smaller bins empty into it. Just tie off each end and it's ready for the curb.

"This might work for our office and bathroom trash, but might not be so hot for the kitchen garbage."

I compost my kitchen scraps so my kitchen garbage rarely includes any "wet" trash. I just dump my kitchen garbage into the outside bins the same as my bathroom trash. On the rare occasion that I have bones or other "wet" non-compostable scraps, I put them into a bowl as I prepare my food and then take them out right after the meal when I clean up--they never even make it into the trash can.

Many chain grocery stores have bins where people can drop off their old plastic grocery bags or newspaper sleeves. Certainly they would not mind if you picked up a few for your use. Neighbors and friends may have some extra plastic bags that they might be willing to part with.

yes, m4anita... this is what i've been thinking as I begin to grow desperate for liners without buying plastic...... I am a little afraid of how crazy I will look, and a little bit of my germaphobe side is stirred up, but I think raiding those plastic bag recycling bins is the best bet!