Do I have to use bags for my trash?

Well, yes, I would think so. The problem is, when the trash people dump the can some of that loose stuff won’t make it to the truck. It will look unsightly until it degrades. But it’s still better than putting it in a plastic bag.

Perhaps you could use a paper bag? Just ask for paper when you go to the grocery store.

My gut says yes, you can just take the bin to the dumpster.

My head says check with the dumpster service. There should be a name and number on the side.

Could you just roll the stuff up in a newspaper page? At least then it wouldn’t be loose.

I’m pretty sure they won’t let you put trash in the dumpster without bags. I have a feeling there would be a fine associated with that.

If you’re worried about the environment, may I suggest that you get a small home composter? You might find those bags a bit more expensive, but it would drastically reduce the number of plastic bags that you fill, and the number of trips to the dumpster (why do you have to go to a dumpster anyway?).

Also… paper bags for garbage are likely worse for the environment than plastic. And throwing biodegradable bags into a landfill is unhelpful – almost nothing decomposes in a landfill.

I agree. Roll it up in a newspaper page or two, tape it shut, and bingo, no plastic bag. But you do need to contain it somehow. Just rolling it up without tape won’t probably work.

How would paper bags be worse for the environment than plastic? Of course things degrade in the land fill. Except plastic.

The newspaper idea is a good one, except that I’d ordinarily be recycling newspapers. I’ll call the dumpster people anyway to see what they have to say. Thanks for the answers!

Garbage in bags in a dumpster falls out all the time. No problem there. The bigger question to me is a matter of keeping your trash canister clean, all the yucky stuff sticks to the side and unless you wash it after each emptying, that stuff will begin to smell and to rot.

@Dutchess_III Landfills are generally not built to make things decompose. They’re just storage.

Paper grocery bags are practically nonexistent in my region now. My point was that producing a paper bag for the purpose of throwing it in a landfill is probably not environmentally better.

You would think there would be plenty of bacteria in the food that gets tossed.

Hm. I wouldn’t think twice about doing that. As long as you aren’t dumping anything moist in there, I don’t see the problem. I’m impressed, by the way.

Do you not eat? ~

@zenvelo If that’s the case, then I’m okay. What i meant to convey in the second and third sentences of the description was that none of it was that kind of stuff.

Well, I think we need to wait for the definite answer from @dxs.

What the call to the dumpster people reveals?

Shoe’s in your court, sport, @dxs!