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In our post-COVID world, it is interesting to learn that the plastic trash bag was first used to help prevent the spread of polio. In 1950, Winnipeg General Hospital first used Canadian Harry Wasylyk’s invention to line their trash cans for easy and sanitary polio patient waste disposal.
Made out of stretchy, waterproof polyethylene and green in color, these first trash bags were not sold for home use. However, nearly two decades later, the Union Carbide Company purchased the rights to manufacture them and sell them under the name Glad trash bags.
Later, these residential bags included a twist tie and were available in different sizes and with drawstring closures. In recent years, in recognition of the growing plastic waste problem, plastic garbage bag offerings now include recycled, recyclable, and compostable varieties.
Although we all are trying to reduce our use of plastic, you probably still want to have a box or two of large heavy-duty bags handy for use around the homestead. Here are 27 off-grid uses for garbage bags.
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1. Water Collection
Whether you use them to line a hole in the ground or a trash can, garbage bags are useful for collecting rainwater or water runoff. You also can use a trash bag as you would a bucket to collect water from a river, lake, or stream.
2. Garden Cover
If you are expecting unseasonably frosty temperatures or a heavy rain or windstorm, you can cover garden pots and rows with garbage bags as a layer of protection.
3. Food Storage and Transport
You can use plastic trash bags to store and hold food, especially as feed for your animals and livestock.
4. Shade
Whether you hook them onto branches or tie them to posts, trash bags can offer shade from the sun where you need it and when you need it for animals and people alike.
5. Blackout Curtains
You also can use garbage bags indoors to keep out the sun when you want to cut your air-conditioning bills or just need to sleep during daylight hours.
6. Ground Cover
Trash bags can serve as a protective layer from dampness and insects when you need to place things on the ground. They also help protect your sleeping bag from moisture when you are spending the night outdoors.
7. Poncho
All you need to do is cut a hole for your head, and a trash bag becomes an excellent makeshift poncho.
8. Bandage
You can use garbage bags to cover wounds to safeguard them from water, dirt, and germs.
9. Sling
The sturdy plastic also can work as an emergency sling for a sprained or broken arm.
10. Splint
You can make any splint sturdier by tying one or more plastic bags around it.
11. Emergency Toilet
If your water supply is down, you can use trash bags as part of an emergency toilet system. Here’s how.
12. Blanket
Use trash bags as an extra insulating layer inside a sleeping bag. All you need to do is step into the bag and pull it up over your feet and legs. You can tie extra bags around your arms and waist for more warmth if you need it.
13. Emergency Shoe Covers
When keeping your feet dry is a priority, you can tie or tape trash bags around your shoes or boots as emergency booties.
14. Backpack Cover
Wrap a trash bag around your backpack to help keep your belongings dry during a downpour.
15. Back-up Pillow
You can give your head a soft place to land in a pinch. Blow enough air inside a trash bag to inflate it and then securely tie it closed to create a make-shift pillow.
16. Eating Surface
When you want to cut down on dirt and germs during an outdoor meal – one that is planned or otherwise – you can use trash bags. Cover ledges, rocks, or logs to use as eating surfaces. Or place one (or two) over a public picnic table as a make-shift table cloth.
17. Trail Markers
You can tie trash bags to mark your trail in the woods. Brightly colored drawstrings are particularly noticeable.
18. Makeshift Stretcher
You can use several trash bags as a stretcher to move injured people or animals or heavy gear.
19. Solar Water Still
You can use a large plastic trash bag as the covering for a homemade solar water still. Here’s a video with simple instructions.
20. Paint Drop Cloth
Plastic trash bags work well to cover your work surface during painting projects. You also can use them to protect your table or counter during messy craft projects.
21. Clothing Protection
Make your own dry cleaner bags to protect clothing in storage or during travel. All you need to do is poke a hole in the closed end of the bag that is big enough to accommodate the hanger handles. Pull the bag down around the hanging clothes and tie the open end to keep clothes clean and safe.
22. Out-of-Season Blanket Storage
Place winter blankets, comforters, and bedspreads inside trash bags to keep them clean and safe during warm weather months.
23. Emergency Shelter
You can use heavy-duty 55-gallon trash bags to make a tent. This video shows you how.
24. Makeshift Mattress
You can fill a few hefty trash bags with pine needles, hay, or leaves to create a temporary outdoor mattress.
25. Leak Prevention
In a pinch, you can use trash bags to fill in cracks, holes or gaps in walls, windows, doors, and roof shingles until you can make proper repairs.
26. Weed Prevention
Trash bags work well in the garden to stop weeds from popping up in between your plants. You can anchor the bags with rocks or stakes.
27. Rope
If you need a rope in an emergency, you can braid together several trash bags to form a durable cord. You can also use a twisted trash bag as a make-shift belt.
Not all plastic trash bags are of the same strength or quality. For most of these ideas, you’ll want 55-gallon contractor bags with at least a 3-mil thickness.
Shop around for the best in-store or online deals, such as these from Amazon. The bags will fold nicely to fit into backpacks, bug-out bags, or your survival pantry.
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I have serious reservations about using garbage bags for any food storage or water collection. Many brands of garbage bags are treated with antibacterial chemicals to reduce odors. These chemicals can leach into the food or water kept in these bags. Garbage bags are not made for use with food, these chemicals are not identified.
Use due caution even in an emergency situation. People have used garbage bags to line containers so large quantities of drinks could be mixed, only to make everyone sick. Not as severe as Jonestown, but serious enough when your body is dealing with emergency conditions. Be careful.