Guide
Which garbage bag do you use?
Size by can, not by guess.
4 min read · First Ave Supply, 1587 First Avenue
Short answer. Match the bag to the can, not to the job. A 44 gallon Brute takes a 55 gallon liner. A 32 gallon can takes a 40 gallon liner. You always size up, because a bag that exactly matches the can cannot be tied.
Then pick thickness by what goes in it. Office and kitchen trash is 1 mil. General building waste is 1.5 to 2 mil. Construction debris, broken tile and anything with an edge is 3 mil or better.
Sizing, by the can you actually own
| Your can | Liner to buy |
|---|---|
| 20 to 30 gallon | 33 gallon |
| 32 gallon | 40 to 45 gallon |
| 44 gallon Brute | 55 gallon |
| 55 gallon drum | 60 to 65 gallon |
If the bag does not fold over the rim by four inches it is too small. Your porters will tell you before the manufacturer does.
What is a mil and why does it matter
A mil is one thousandth of an inch. It is thickness, and it is the only number that decides whether the bag survives the chute.
1 mil. Office bins, bathroom bins, paper.
1.5 to 2 mil. The everyday building bag. Kitchen waste, mixed trash, anything wet.
3 mil and up. Contractor bags. Demolition, tile, plaster, broken glass, wet sheetrock. If you are cleaning out an apartment this is the one, and using a 2 mil to save money costs more the first time one splits in a stairwell.
Compactor tubes are not bags
If your building has a compactor it takes a continuous tube on a roll, not individual bags, and the roll size is specific to the machine. Measure the old core before you order. This is the most common wrong order we see and it is the one that shuts a compactor room down.
Clear or black
Black for general waste. Clear where the building needs to show what is inside, which in New York usually means recycling, or a building where management wants to see contamination before the sanitation ticket arrives.
How many to buy
Count your cans, multiply by pickups per week, then add a quarter. Bags do not expire and the case price is meaningfully better than the each price.
Building accounts get case pricing on every bag here. Sign in and the price on the page changes. If you do not have an account it takes about five minutes at 1587 First Avenue, and you order at those prices from then on.
Still not sure
Bring the old bag, or a photo of the can with a tape measure across the top. We size it at the counter and you stop guessing.
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