I don't normally need to buy refuse sacks as our local council provides specific refuse bags that the rubbish must go in. They provide enough for one per week and you get a roll at the start of each year. If you have more rubbish than will fit in the one bag then you can also put out extra normal black bin bags as well. We don't generate enough rubbish to fill more than one refuse bag, hence not normally needing to buy any refuse sacks.

I decided that we should have a mini spring clean and clear out in the house last weekend and as I was busy sent my husband to Sainsbury's for a roll of black bin bags. He came back with these Basics Refuse Sacks. He said that he didn't see the need to buy anything other than the Basics bin bags for something that would just be thrown away anyway. He paid 97 pence for a roll of 40 sacks, he said that the next cheapest ones were a roll of 20 for £2.50, and most were more expensive again. Initially I had no problems with him buying the Basics Refuse Sacks, until we started to use them and fill them...

The little label on the Basics Refuse sacks claims that they're ''thinner, not rubbish''. I'd have to disagree with Sainsbury's here as yes they certainly are thinner than normal black bin liners, but they definitely are rubbish!

They are the the typical tie top black bin bags, and they are very very thin. I'd probably call them 'grey' bin bags not black bin bags, as they're virtually see through. They are not very substantial at all, anything with even the slightest hint of a corner or edge would invariably rip the bin bag, and most even ripped when we picked them up full of stuff as it was so easy to just put your finger through the bin bag, or they just wouldn't carry the weight of the items we'd put in them.

They are supposed to have a capacity of 75 litres per sack, I'd probably even dispute that, as they did seem smaller than normal black bin liners, and they are certainly much smaller than the local council supplied refuse sacks. Even if they did manage to hold 75 litres they'd probably just split when you picked them up anyway.

We ended up doubling up on all of the bin bags that we used, so I guess you could say that we actually got a roll of 20 sacks not 40 sacks. It would have been better to have paid the extra 50 pence for a roll of 20 better quality bin bags!

Would I buy these again or recommend these? Not at all!