The best black bags for the price (Eco Bags Super Strong Dustbin Liners)

Member Name: i_am_joy

Product:	Eco Bags Super Strong Dustbin Liners
Date:	22/04/08 (86 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: These black bags are strong and do not split and leave dirt inside my bin, they are cheap

Disadvantages: There are no tie handles

I recycle most of my household rubbish so do not need to use many more black rubbish sacks than the 13 my council bring me every 3 months. This month though I have had more rubbish than usual for various reasons so I needed to buy a roll of bags for the bin. I saw these Eco Bags in my local pound shop so I brought a roll thinking that even if they were as thin and prone to tears as a pair of tights then I would only have spent £1 on them.

I was impressed that I would get 20 bags for £1 and I think this is very good value especially as they are labelled as being heavy duty and Super Strong.

When I first took a bag off the roll I thought it was very easy to tear the bag away from the rest of them along the perforations and neither the bag I wanted or the one it was attached to ripped or stretched which leads me to believe that these are good quality bags.

The size on the outer sleeve of the roll tells me that these bags are 710mm x 850mm. To give you a better idea, I have a basic 40 litre square swing top kitchen bin and the bags reach the bottom of my bin and sit lightly just touching the bottom. There is enough length for me to fold the top of the bag over the top ledge of my bin so I can keep it in place with the bins top.

The bags are very strong and considering I would usually pay 3 times this much for a roll of black bags from Sainsburys I am very impressed with them. I was a little bit wary the first time I used them as I thought such cheap bags would surely break or split but they are as good as those the council leave me, if a little bit shorter.

I filled my bag up to the top just leaving enough room to be able to tie it up properly to put out for the dustmen. I was a little disappointed that these bags do not have tie handles as I find them very useful for tying the bag closed before lifting it out of the bin, but I am perfectly able to knot the bag closed without ties so it did not pose a problem for me. There were no holes in the bags which I think is a common problem when using these kind of no frills black bags and I hate having to clean the inside of my bin after every bag change because bits of food and liquids have dripped through tiny holes in the rubbish bag. After using these bags there were no stains or little puddles of water in the bottom of my bin even though my grandaughter had accidentally poured a quantity of gravy in there.

The bags will comfortably hold most things, although I think I would be wary of putting anything too sharp in there. I sorted out my wardrobe for the charity shop and packaged my unwanted clothes in these bags and none of them burst open even though I had packed one bag very tightly. Nothing I threw away in my rubbish punched a hole in the bag when usually even an egg shell will cut through cheap bags. The bags are nice and thick and filled me with confidence that it would not split when I pulled it out of the bin because a pile of rubbish to clear up in my kitchen is not on my agenda.

I have a bit of a bone to pick with Eco Bags though. I found after I had got home that Eco in this instance actually stands for Economy and it does not mean that these bags are any better for the environment than any other black bags. I think this is a little bit naughty of the people who make them because most people will look at the fact that they are called Eco Bags and assume they are being greener than buying another brand.

I will definitely buy these again because for the price you really cannot moan as they do everything a more expensive brand of black bags do and are perfect for their purpose.

Summary: Why spend £3 on rubbish bags when these cost only £1 for 20?