If you’re left holding the bag, you want the bag to be holding the trash, not spilling it onto the kitchen floor. But in tests of 10 tall kitchen bags, the top-selling type, we found big differences in performance.
Best of all were Glad Drawstring Stronger with Less Plastic and Hefty The Gripper. Hoisted aloft by a pulley apparatus, they and other high-rated bags held about 50 pounds of barbells before stretching like taffy and dropping their load. The lowest-rated bag, Member’s Mark (Sam’s Club), failed with about 35 pounds. The top two have other advantages. The Glad bag is advertised as using less plastic, based on thickness: Its maker says the top section is 0.95 mils thick; the rest, 0.78 mils thick. Most other bags are about 0.9 mils throughout. The Hefty bag has a stretchable drawstring to help hold it to a wastebasket rim.
Don’t buy only by brand: Although Glad ForceFlex was almost as good as its brandmate, Hefty CinchSak did a bit worse than Hefty The Gripper. Paying more doesn’t get you a better bag: A 7-cent Kirkland Signature bag outscored a 23-cent Ultra Tuf.
Bottom line. For heavy use, try one of the Recommended products, for 14 to 16 cents apiece. If you use bags for light trash, as in a bathroom, consider the less-pricey Kirkland Signature.
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