# What did you use for inside trash before plastic trash bags? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 19, 2023, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-use-for-inside-trash-before-plastic-trash-bags/981344 "2023-03-19T05:46:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Didi44](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47c2d/32.png) [@Didi44](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Didi44)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2023, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-use-for-inside-trash-before-plastic-trash-bags/981344/1 "2023-03-19T05:46:42Z")
Random thought. We used to use large paper grocery bags and milk cartons for wet items. Plastic produce bags weren’t common, so not sure what we used if we didn’t have a milk carton handy. Maybe wrapped wet items in newspaper? It was a meme in the comics when someone nicely wraps and ties their vegetable peelings and egg shells in newspaper or butcher paper and someone steals it. TMI, I know my sisters used to wrap their feminine pads in newspaper then toss it in the bathroom trashcan. My Dad used to get angry when they accidently popped open. ---
**Author:** ![Mikkel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikkel/32/13151_2.png) [@Mikkel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikkel)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2023, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-use-for-inside-trash-before-plastic-trash-bags/981344/2 "2023-03-19T06:22:24Z")
I have always used plastic bags, but I remember my parents, in the middle to late fifties, used to line a bucket with newspaper and use that for trash. They would empty it in the trash can and wash it before relining it. You have to remember that there wasn’t so much trash. Milk came in bottles, meat was packed in butchers paper, which the cat was allowed to lick before throwing it out. Paper-bags for bread, which was saved and reused. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2023, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-use-for-inside-trash-before-plastic-trash-bags/981344/3 "2023-03-19T06:25:48Z")
My parents told me they just used the wastebin without a liner. Some of our bins are still used that way. ~Max ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2023, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-use-for-inside-trash-before-plastic-trash-bags/981344/4 "2023-03-19T07:22:56Z")
> [@Didi44](#): > > TMI, I know my sisters used to wrap their feminine pads in newspaper then toss it in the bathroom trashcan. I’ll see you a TMI and raise you a _really_ TMI: When I was in high school in the 1970s, “that time of month” was definitely very private and somewhat shameful, so sanitary napkins (quite bulky in those days) were best well wrapped (in long strands of toilet paper at home, in my case) and shoved deep into the trash basket, in hopes no one would notice. Well. My family had a large and loving standard poodle, who pranced with joy whenever people came home after long periods (heh, no pun intended) away from the house. One day, all of us had been gone for many hours and then returned home together. Our overjoyed dog looked for something she could bring us as a gift to show her appreciation for our return, and got the clever idea (poodles are pretty smart, after all) to root through the trash can and find something to bring to us to say thank you for coming home. You know what happened next. Best of all, she gave my used sanitary napkin TO MY FATHER. Yeah, 50 years later, it’s funny. Not so much at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Didi44](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47c2d/32.png) [@Didi44](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Didi44)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2023, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-use-for-inside-trash-before-plastic-trash-bags/981344/5 "2023-03-19T07:59:44Z")
LMAO! Love the story! Thank you! ---
**Author:** ![Didi44](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47c2d/32.png) [@Didi44](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Didi44)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2023, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-use-for-inside-trash-before-plastic-trash-bags/981344/6 "2023-03-19T08:11:41Z")
I’m a child of the 60’s, so not far off. But I think prepackaged bread was always in wax lined packages that breathe slightly. I vaguely recall this, but thinking about it, we used to use the bread bag for wet trash also. We’d turn it inside out because the printing would rub off if you touched it too much. There was no plastic wrap either. We had aluminum foil and wax paper. We always had grocery bags for our trash, but would put newspaper on the bottom of the inside trash cans to soak up leaks. ---
**Author:** ![Dereknocue67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6de8d8/32.png) [@Dereknocue67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dereknocue67)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2023, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-use-for-inside-trash-before-plastic-trash-bags/981344/7 "2023-03-19T08:22:40Z")
Thick paper grocery store bags. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2023, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-use-for-inside-trash-before-plastic-trash-bags/981344/8 "2023-03-19T08:59:32Z")
We used the paper grocery bags with a section of newspaper folded into the bottom. Taken out after dinner every night. That lasted through the 80s with my parents. I’ve always used plastic. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2023, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-use-for-inside-trash-before-plastic-trash-bags/981344/9 "2023-03-19T09:01:21Z")
In the old days at least some people used the trash can without a liner. Every so often you’d wash/scrub the trash can. I dimly remember that from the late 1960’s. We’d have small trash cans throughout the house. The ones in the kitchen and bathroom got emptied daily into a larger can with a lid in the garage or just outside which is the one that got really stinky. Yep, newspapers and paper grocery bags were used to wrap/contain wet messes ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2023, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-use-for-inside-trash-before-plastic-trash-bags/981344/10 "2023-03-19T11:57:36Z")
We used grocery bags: thick paper that didn’t leak easily. We generally didn’t put liquid in the garbage. Fats were put in a coffee can; other liquids went down the drain. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2023, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-use-for-inside-trash-before-plastic-trash-bags/981344/11 "2023-03-19T13:24:51Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > We generally didn’t put liquid in the garbage. Fats were put in a coffee can; other liquids went down the drain. Good point, there were always a few rinsed out old glass jars under the sink for fats and other liquids that were best not to go down the drain. I had forgotten that. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2023, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-use-for-inside-trash-before-plastic-trash-bags/981344/12 "2023-03-19T14:23:40Z")
> [@Dereknocue67](#): > > Thick paper grocery store bags. Yup. Put the groceries away and save the bags. Also there was more stuff that came wrapped in heavy paper that could be used to wrap up messy garbage. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2023, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-use-for-inside-trash-before-plastic-trash-bags/981344/13 "2023-03-19T14:32:30Z")
Yep, I recall mom using paper bags in the kitchen and taking it out to the main trash bin with a lid every night. Then dad taking it to the burn drum once a week. Grease was saved in a grease trap on top of the stove for reuse. It would also get added to the deep fryer when too much accumulated. It wasnt until the seventies when we moved to a “real” town that garbage pickup became a thing in our family. Also stopped burning leaves as well. Damn guberment. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2023, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-use-for-inside-trash-before-plastic-trash-bags/981344/14 "2023-03-19T14:35:28Z")
Yep brown grocery bags with a newspaper lining. My folks did start using plastic grocery sacks to line the paper bag. 🤫 And the plastic sleeve that the newspaper was delivered in was used to catch coffee grinds, egg shells, and other morning prep detritus. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2023, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-use-for-inside-trash-before-plastic-trash-bags/981344/15 "2023-03-19T19:16:18Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > Also stopped burning leaves as well. I can remember our backyard incinerator. They were banned the month before I turned six. I can remember being “banned” from that corner of the yard. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2023, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-use-for-inside-trash-before-plastic-trash-bags/981344/16 "2023-03-19T19:40:17Z")
I don’t think we even had a trash basket under the kitchen sink; just a free standing paper grocery bag. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2023, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-use-for-inside-trash-before-plastic-trash-bags/981344/17 "2023-03-19T20:08:59Z")
Assorted boxes which had held various things; and emptied “tin” cans. These days those are recyclable – then, they were trash. And, as has been mentioned, wastebaskets and trash cans were just used unlined, and washed as necessary – unwashable types, and/or wicker and similar with holes in them, would only be used for things like non-greasy paper. Which was generally not recyclable then, either; though I think in some areas there’d be a newspaper collection maybe once or twice a year, and some people would save bundles of newspaper for that. Or to use as firestarter and//or washing windows and/or protecting areas while painting; some of us still do that. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2023, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-use-for-inside-trash-before-plastic-trash-bags/981344/18 "2023-03-19T20:11:49Z")
Another vote for heavy brown grocery paper bags. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2023, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-use-for-inside-trash-before-plastic-trash-bags/981344/19 "2023-03-19T20:25:52Z")
Which we also used back then to make book covers for school books. None of those fancy stretchy covers my kids had. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2023, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-use-for-inside-trash-before-plastic-trash-bags/981344/20 "2023-03-19T21:58:45Z")
Also handy if you were a shy comic. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-use-for-inside-trash-before-plastic-trash-bags/981344.md?page=2)