Multi-Use

With a little bit of imagination, a trash bag can be used in many different ways. This is relevant to those who are preparedness minded because an important concept for preppers is redundancy. This article will share 15 plus uses for a trash bag.

Before we get to the list, the type of trash bag that you choose to purchase is important. I personally like the 55 gallon contractor sized trash bags that are thicker than you might use to pick-up leaves. These 55 gallon sized trash bags are the kind that you can put inside a 55 gallon drum if you were using the drum as a trash can. The brand I purchase varies from time to time. I try to find the thickest bag (mil) I can find. You can choose whatever kind you want, but in some of the uses I’m going to share, you will want a thicker, heavier and bigger trash bag. Also, you will want fragrant-free bags. You might want to consider the ToughBag.

“Everyday” Uses for a Trash Bag

Rain Poncho

This one is first because it is the first thing many people think of. No one wants to go through the rain and get soaking wet, especially when you are out and about. A trash bag can easily be turned into a rain poncho to get you dry. The contractor bags are even big enough to go around a backpack. There are a few variations to using a trash bag as a rain poncho that you might want to be aware of.

The first is to cut a hole big enough for your head in the center bottom of the bag. Then, you would cut out holes on the side to let your arms go through. Of course, this doesn’t give you complete protection from getting wet.

The second variation is to cut a hole big enough for your face to see out of one of the corners. This would give you a little pointy-hat effect and cover your head from getting wet. You would then cut the holes in the side of the trash bag.

You might not want to cut holes in the side, but not doing so would mean you wouldn’t have your hands to help catch you if you fell in the rain.

Shoe Protection

Ok. This one might be stretching it for some. But I could see some people wanting to protect their new shoes from walking through a rainstorm. I finally learned my lesson when I worked on the campus because it never failed that we would get a storm when I would wear my new leather shoes. (Elvis’ Blue Suede Shoes is Playing in Your Head Now). I eventually took some old shoes to change into, but if you were in a situation where you didn’t have extra shoes, making some make shift shoe covers would work.

Blocker for Privacy

As you can imagine, there aren’t many “everyday” uses for a trash bag, so this next one is the last. But you might find yourself in a situation where you need to put up a blocker for privacy or even to protect you from elements.

A few years back, I was at a pastor’s meeting at a local restaurant. One of the pastors had their truck broken into. Thieves broke the window looking for a quick buck! He and his wife needed something to cover the window so the glass wouldn’t blow all around as they drove home. Yes, trash bag to the rescue!

And again, you could also use a black trash bag to cover up a window to keep prying eyes from seeing inside.

Survival Uses for a Trash Bag

If you were in an emergency situation, having a few of these 55 gallon sized trash bags would greatly help in your survival. They can handle anything from shelter, keeping warm, water catchment and more.

Shelter

Ground Cover or Mattress

Staying with the emergency situation, another use for a trash bag is to use it as a ground cover or mattress. The important take-away here is that you don’t want to sleep directly on the cold ground. You want to insulate your body and keep it warm.

Using one of the 55 gallon trash bags, you could make a very comfortable (relative to sleeping on the hard cold ground) survival mattress. Stuff your trash bag with dry leaves. The more you stuff your bag, the more comfortable you will be.

Makeshift Bivvy

Water Collection

With a little bit of creativity, a trash bag could be used for water collection in multiple ways.

The first is to use it to transport water from a river or pond to a camp site. If you have a 3 mil thick bag like the Tough Bag, you will be able to carry more water than your regular trash bag. But you could also use the trash bag to line a dirty bucket or other container, which would allow you to transport more water and keep the water from coming into contact with whatever was in the dirty container.

Next, you could use a trash bag to to help you collect water from trees and leaves by using transpiration. In this use, you would place the trash bag around a limb of a tree with a lot of green leaves and tie it securely. As the sun hits the bag, the water in the leaves will evaporate, hit the top of the bag and run down the sides. You will get a little pool of water at the lowest point of the bag. You won’t get a gallon of water, but this method doesn’t require any work on your part.

Other considerations are that the area where you are doing this should be humid and you should be careful not to do this with a tree that might be poisonous to humans. From Outdoor Life, “The following are toxic when alive or wilted: black locust, yew, cherry, buckeye, horse chestnut, rhododendron and laurel.”

Lastly, you could use your trash bag like a rain collection tarp. I wrote about that in my article, “The Rain Catchment Tarp.” With the dimensions of the trash bag above (6’x5′), you could potentially collect 16 gallons of water per inch of rain. See the article.

Cordage

Preppers should always carry some sort of cordage in their kit. However, in a pinch, strips of a trash bag could be used to make cordage for a shelter or other uses. If you need a stronger cordage, you could twist the trash bag to increase the strength of the cordage. This video below shows you how to do this.

Medical Uses

You should have a first aid kit that you depend on in an emergency situation. But we are talking about a survival situation here. If you are caught without your first aid kit, you could use a trash bag to create a sling, tourniquet or bandage. Again, these first aid uses aren’t ideal, but in an emergency, knowing that you could do this increases your options.

Warming Up Water for Hygiene

If you find yourself in a place where the water is cold and want to warm up some water for hygiene purposes, you could put some water in a trash bag, tie it off and put it in the sun. Some have said that you could poke some holes in the bag and use it as a shower. I wouldn’t do that though. I would keep the integrity of the trash bag for others uses and use the warm water with a bandana or shemagh to wash up with.

Keep Contents Dry

You can use a trash bag inside your bugout bag or pack to keep things dry. This would mean that the trash bag would go in to your pack before anything else, then you would tie it off. This would keep your clothes, food and other items dry if it rained or you fell into some water.

Video: 10 Awesome Uses For Trash Bags

Conclusion

A 55 gallon trash bag is a very versatile item that can come in handy in an emergency situation. And I’m sure you could easily think of other uses for using a trash bag. Feel free to share your thoughts and ideas in the comments below. But then purchase some bags so you can put them in your kits.

Peace,
Todd