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HOUSE CLEANING

siderably within those groups. As a result, matching the bag to the trash container can be tricky. The latest marketing wrinkle targets the "green" consumer. No, the issue isn't degradability anymore. (The Federal Trade Commission cracked down on unsubstantiated degradability claims a few years back, and garbage-bag manufacturers have changed their pitch.) Now, many of them tout the use of recycled plastic. That's laudable. However, the trend toward more environmentally friendly products is driven by government regulation as much as by anything else. How do you tell which bag is most robust? You might think that the number of plies, sometimes noted on the package, is a reliable barometer. Not necessarily, according to Consumers Union tests. Nor is there a clear correlation between the thickness of the plastic and the bag's quality. Some bags boast that they're extra-heavy duty, or made of high-performance or concentrated plastic. When scrutinized by Consumers Union engineers, however, many bags, and their claims, didn't pass muster. To find out which claims are worth listening to and which bags are worth buying, Consumers Union sent shoppers in 14 states to buy bags. The 55 products they found included name brands, store brands, and bags from mail-order catalogs. For comparison

A NUMBERS GAME?
TYPE OF BAG

Waste Tall kitchen Trash Lawn and leaf

USUAL CAPACITY 4--S gal. 13 gal. 30-33 gal. 39 gal.