NOT the most exciting item on your shopping list, but refuse sacks are an essential item in every household.
They can be pricey though - and like many things, the cost is going up.
How annoying then when you can’t tear the bags off the roll and a big hole appears in the bottom as soon as you fill them with rubbish.
The Sun asked mum-of-three Lynsey Hope to investigate which are the most effective for sorting household refuse.
Here, Lynsey 41, from West Malling, Kent, shares her findings:
Essential Waitrose 15 Refuse Sacks
Lynsey says: "Not too flimsy and hold a good amount of waste.
"Sturdy, leakproof, they don't rip and were easy to pull from the roll.
"My only complaint is the bottom which seems a bit narrow and limits how much rubbish they can take.
"These are a great price from Waitrose and are cheaper than the bags we tested from most other supermarkets, barring Asda and Aldi.
"A huge plus that they are made from recycled plastic."
- FIT FOR PURPOSE: 9/10
- VALUE: 9/10
- OVERALL SCORE: 9/10
Tesco 12 Extra Strong Refuse Sacks
Lynsey says: "Some brands advertise their bags as 'strong' when in reality they're not much different from any standard sack.
"These however were super strong. They pull individually from the roll so you don't have to tear them, which I liked.
"The only downside is the price.
"At 33p a sack, I'll be saving these for when I need to get rid of some extra heavy waste. I wouldn't necessarily use them everyday."
- FIT FOR PURPOSE: 10/10
- VALUE: 5/10
- OVERALL SCORE: 8/10
Morrisons Tie Top 20 Refuse Sacks
"They look more of a translucent grey than black.
"They were easy to pull off the roll, and not a bad price for everyday use if you're not using them for heavy refuse."
- FIT FOR PURPOSE: 7/10
- VALUE: 7/10
- OVERALL: 7/10
Sainsbury's Drawstring Stong and Large Refuse Sacks - 20
Lynsey says: "These are a great sized 100-litre bags.
"They felt quite sturdy and I had no issues with the tie tops.
"One or two did leak when they had wet refuse in them and this made a mess of my kitchen which was a bit disappointing given the price.
"They could hold a good amount of rubbish though, 100litres, before tearing."
- FIT FOR PURPOSE: 6/10
- VALUE: 4/10
- OVERALL: 5/10
Asda 20 Bin Bags Tie Top
Lynsey says: “Nothing to complain about here.
"Pretty cheap sacks but they did the job I wanted them to.
"One tore whilst in used but I had probably overloaded it. Liked the tie tops.
"I was impressed with these for the price and would buy again.”
- FIT FOR PURPOSE: 8/10
- VALUE: 9/10
- OVERALL: 9/10
Lidl Purio Heavy Duty Refuse Sacks - 10
Lynsey said: "Enormous 120 litre sacks. I did have some trouble opening up the flat top and would take a bit of faffing around to get them open.
"They tore off the roll ok and for the price, they were very sturdy.
"I would have expected better value from Lidl, though.”
- FIT FOR PURPOSE: 7/10
- VALUE: 5/10
- OVERALL SCORE: 6/10
Aldi Everyday Essentials 40 Refuse Sacks
Lynsey says: “Incredible value from Aldi, these work out at just 2.3p per sack.
"I wasn’t expecting too many bells and whistles given the price but they tore off the roll easily, were easy to open and whilst they weren’t the strongest in our test, they didn’t rip as soon as you loaded them.
"I wouldn’t want to spend several pounds on sacks again knowing you can pick these up for just 95p - a great product from Aldi.”
- FIT FOR PURPOSE: 10/10
- VALUE: 10/10
- OVERALL: 10/10
