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Best Yard Waste and Leaf Bags, Tested and Reviewed

We conducted strength, drag, jerk, and absorbency tests to find the bags that are less likely to puncture or tear, making your yardwork that much easier

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Person working on their yard with bag full of yard waste, yard bags from Lowe's, Member's Mark, Glad, Up&Up
Collecting leaves, dirt, and other debris becomes an easier task with the right equipment.
Photos: Getty Images, Consumer Reports

One yard bag might seem as good as any other. Our recent tests, however, show significant variation in quality across different types and brands. And while you can certainly get by with any old yard bag, our top pick will ensure you’re less likely to have bags with punctures from sticks and twigs, holes if dragged across the pavement (not an ideal situation, but can happen!), or spillage—resulting in even more work. 

In this article
More On Household and Yard Waste
3 Best Trash Bags, Tested by Our Experts
Foods You Can and Can’t Put Down the Garbage Disposal
The TikTok-Famous Foaming Drain Cleaner Is More of a De-Gunker Than an Unclogger
Is FryAway the Best Way to Dispose of Cooking Oil?
How to Compost at Home

But we must also offer this caveat: none of these bags excelled. “Compared with the 13-gallon kitchen trash bags we recently evaluated, these yard bags are mediocre at best,” says José Amézquita, who led the testing for both. 

Mediocre, however, is better than bad, and choosing one of our top picks will help make the dirty, buggy, and uncomfortable task of yard cleanup a little less of a pain.

Sneak peek: We found that paper trumped plastic by a long shot, while Reli—a favorite from our kitchen trash bags test—had a lackluster performance in the yard. 

Become a member to read the full article and get access to digital ratings.

We investigate, research, and test so you can choose with confidence.

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Angela Lashbrook, Consumer Reports Senior Home & Trends Writer.

Angela Lashbrook

Angela Lashbrook is a senior multimedia content creator at Consumer Reports. She has been with CR since 2021 and covers a wide range of topics, but she is particularly interested in anything health- or parenting-related. She lives with her husband, their son, and her dog, a Libra named Gordo.

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