Garbage bags, as the name suggests, are bags used for holding trash. Though small, these bags bring great convenience to countless households, provide important support for environmental protection, and even facilitate waste recycling and classification.

Since garbage bags are only used to temporarily store waste and are discarded once full, they are generally designed for single use, making them convenient, quick, clean, and hygienic. Moreover, the cost of most garbage bags in use today is relatively low, making them affordable.

Common styles of plastic garbage bags include flat-top and vest-style bags. Another type is gradually gaining popularity: drawstring self-sealing garbage bags. These three types differ slightly in their opening designs.

1. Flat-top plastic garbage bags
Flat-top garbage bags have a flat opening. When discarding such a bag after filling it with trash, one must gather the opening tightly and hold that part to throw it away. If the bag is too full, hands can easily come into contact with the waste, and garbage may spill out from the opening. Therefore, flat-top bags are generally not filled to capacity. They are the easiest to manufacture, with no material waste, and are the lowest in cost. They are the most affordable per unit and have the highest popularity.
2. Vest-style plastic garbage bags
Compared to flat-top bags, vest-style garbage bags have two additional "ears." These ears are actually cut out from the base of a flat-top bag. As a result, the production of vest-style bags involves some material waste. If the "ears" are cut too long, the capacity may even be smaller than that of a flat-top bag of the same size.
Vest-style garbage bags have clear advantages and disadvantages: Advantages include ease of use and handles that prevent cross-contamination; disadvantages include material waste, relatively lower capacity, and higher cost compared to flat-top bags.
3. Drawstring self-sealing plastic garbage bags
Whether using vest-style or flat-top bags, people inevitably need to touch the opening—the entry point for waste. However, drawstring self-sealing garbage bags eliminate the need to contact the opening. These bags have a string threaded through the opening, with both ends exposed at opposite sides. When discarding the bag, pulling these strings tightens the opening.
Drawstring garbage bags also have pros and cons: Advantages include convenience and greater hygiene compared to vest-style bags; disadvantages include higher cost, complex manufacturing processes, lower production efficiency, and thus higher prices than vest-style bags, making them less widespread.