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Need a quality trash bag? Consumer Reports experts have your back!

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — It’s a dirty job, but someone's gotta do it.

The last thing you want is a trash bag that's going to fall apart on you when you pul it out of the can spilling stinky garbage everywhere, right? But garbage bags are
expensive. And if you're going to spend all of that money, you want one that's going to hold up.

To help you avoid this kitchen nightmare, Consumer Reports just tested unscented 13-gallon trash bags from nine best selling brands.

“Our testers used a special tool called a force gauge, which measures force against the bag," said Consumer Reports Angela Lashbrook. "It was fitted with sharp and blunt tips to see how the bags resisted puncture.”

In a test to check the wall and bottom strength—bags were tied by the neck to the force gauge. Water was added to the bags until they burst through the bottom

To test the strength of drawstrings, testers tied them to the gauge, added water and lifted them until the drawstring snapped.

“The bags that came out on top in our tests – Simplehuman Tall Trash Bags and Walmart’s Great Value Trash Bags.”

The Reli. SuperValue garbage bags also did well in Consumer Reports tests and were the least expensive.

The bags at the bottom of the heap include Glad ForceFlex, Amazon Basics’ Tall Kitchen Drawstring Bags, and HoldOn Compostable Tall Kitchen bags. If you compost, you can consider these but you’ll pay top dollar for them, and the quality is far below the others in the tests.

That’s not something you want to find out the hard way.

Now even though most Simplehuman trash bags are designed to fit their trash cans, Consumer Reports found they can still be used with other cans.

Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at jennifer.kraus@newschannel5.com.

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