Do it yourself : Make litter bags and avoid plastic

One thing that is seriously harming our environment is the waste generated by humans . A majority of this waste is composed of plastics . Plastic is a polymer which is used in most of our day to day usable items , whether in home , office or outside .

Plastic does not decompose easily , so it is advisable to either reuse the plastic article , or not to throw it off . The garbage bags we use at homes and offices are also made up of plastic . These garbage bags are dumped after a single use , and they are then thrown into the environment.

An alternative to this is , we can make litter bags at home , which is made of some better material like recycled paper , and biodegradable low density polythene . The biodegradable polythene can decompose when exposed to sunlight , air and moisture . They then turn into harmless waste,and do not contaminate the soil.

Now , below are the steps on how to make litter bags out of paper.

1. These litter bags will serve only dry waste , so avoid using them for liquid wastes.  Take two large sheets of any old newspaper , and stick them by a glue or fevi stick at the center and at the edges ,  to each other so that they now resemble a single sheet.You can also take upto three sheets together.
2. Now , roll the sheets along the width , i.e. start rolling the side which is smaller in length.
3. Roll in a way that if forms a cylindrical shape , and the diameter of this cylindrical shape should be a little less as compared to your trash can.
4. Now measure the diameter of this cylinder,and mark a line from one top of the cylinder , at a length which is 1 cm greater than the diameter of your cylinder.
5. From the side where you have done the marking , start cutting from the bottom and cut the cylindrical shape in four parts of nearly equal width,upot the marking.
6. You will now have 4 hanging parts,as you see in the Chinese lighting lamp . Now fold up one part , and fold the opposite part over it , such that they overlap , and stick them using a glue or tape. Do the same for the other two parts.
7. After sticking all the four parts , there might be some space left at the corners . This space can be blocked by a cello tape covering.
8. Now from the bottom which you have sealed , mark a length equal to that of your trash can , and cut the part above this marking.
9. You can now put cello tape covering to give a finishing touch to the edges of the upper side,which you have just cut . Place this paper made cylinder in your trash can , and voila! You now have eco – friendly trash bag.

You can use this trash bag as long the paper does not get weared , which will take a lot of time as there wont be much touching the trash bag .You can throw dry waste in this bag like stationary waste , dry peels , etc. and can empty the bag in nearby public dustbins , and you can again use the same paper trash bag.

Here is another method , which will give you a more durable trash bag:

1. Take a large piece of rough cloth , which should be able to cover your trash can completely , i.e. it should have width equal to the circumference of your trash can ,  and length should be nearly 1.5 times the height of the trash can.
2. Now keep one edge of the cloth over the another , along the height so that it forms one part over the other. Stitch one bottom, along the width.
3. Now you will have two sides remaining open. Stitch one side along the length now , and you will be left with one side open.
4. Now get two wooden sticks, of length equal to the diameter of your trash can , and keep one of them on the other,such that their centres co-incide , and they are perpendicular to each other.
5. Stick them , or nail them at the centre. You will now get a cross shape , which you must insert in the stitched cloth piece. Insert this cross shape from the open end of the cloth, upto the other end, so that it will give the circular shape to your trash bag at the bottom.
6. Now insert this cloth in you trash can , keeping the wooden piece side at the bottom , and after the cloth has been completely inserted ,any extra part of the cloth can be folded over the edges of the trash can ,so as to prevent the cloth piece from collapsing in the trash can.

The above two methods are the best and easiest methods to prepare re-usable trash bags at home.They do not require any extra skills,and even the items required are the common ones.It also serves the purpose of getting involved in an activity of interest.After all,we will have to put in some efforts to save out environment,and one way is by saying no to plastics!