Garbage Bag Size Calculator

Our garbage bag size calculator is here to help you measure garbage bag sizes suitable for your trash cans.

We will also share with you how to do these calculations manually so you can calculate what garbage bag size you need, anywhere, at any time.

Furthermore, we'll also tell you about the standard garbage bag sizes commonly available so that you can make the best choice for your trash cans 🚮.

On another note, you can also calculate how much toilet paper you may need using our toilet paper calculator 🧻.

In just a few easy steps, you can use our garbage bag size calculator to find the right bag size for your trash cans.

1. Shape of your trash can 🗑️

   You can choose from one of the following trash can shapes.

   • Circle
   • Square
   • Rectangle

2. Overhang or tie

   This is the extra height of the garbage bag to be hung at the rim of the trash can. Ideally, it should be between 3 to 6 in or 7 to 15 cm, depending on the size of your trash can.

3. Trash can size

   In this group, you can enter the size of your trash can, in the following fields:

   • Width _{(for rectangle & square only)}
   • Length _{(for rectangle only)}
   • Diameter _{(for circle only)}
   • Height

4. Suitable garbage bag size

   Once you've entered your trash can size, the calculator will present you with the most suitable garbage bag size in the following fields:

   • Bag height
   • Bag width

Let's take an example by calculating the garbage bag size of a 22-inch trash can, where the height of our trash can is 30 inches, and it's of a circle shape.

1. We select Circle as the shape of our trash can.

2. Keeping the default Overhang or tie size of 4 inches.

3. In the diameter, under the trash can size, enter 22 inches.

4. Enter the height of our trash can, i.e., 30 inches.

Thus, our suitable garbage bag should have a width of approximately 35 inches with a height of 45 inches.

Here are the formulas that we use to find the width and height of our garbage bags manually:

• For rectangle and square trash cans:

  $\bold G _{w} = T _{l} + T _{w}$

  $\bold G _{h} = T _{h} + G _{o} + G _{w} / 4$

• For circle trash cans:

  $\bold G _{w} = T _{d} × \pi / 2$

  $\bold G _{h} = T _{h} + G _{o} + T _{d} / 2$

where:

• $\bold G _{w}$ – Suitable garbage bag width;
• $\bold G _{h}$ – Suitable garbage bag height;
• $T _{l}$ – Length of the trash can;
• $T _{w}$ – Width of the trash can;
• $T _{d}$ – Diameter of the trash can;
• $T _{h}$ – Height of the trash can;
• $G _{o}$ – Overhanging bag height; and
• $\pi$ – Math constant with an approximate value of 3.1416.

We will now explore a couple of example calculations.

1. Let's take an example using the values from the previous example to calculate the garbage bag size of a 22-inch trash can, where the height of our circle trash can is 18 inches while we want the overhanging to be 4 inches.

   Placing the values in the formula, we get:

   $\bold G _{w} = 22 \times \pi / 2 = 34.56$

   $\bold G _{h} = 30 + 4 + 22 / 2 = 45$

   Thus, a suitable garbage bag for our trash can should have an approximate width of 35 inches and a height of 45 inches.

2. Let's take another example to find a kitchen garbage bag size, where the square trash can has a length and width of 20 inches and a height of 36 inches.

   Placing the values in our formula, with an overhanging height of 6 inches, we get:

   $\bold G _{w} = 20 + 20 = 40$

   $\bold G _{h} = 36 + 6 + 40 / 4 = 52$

   Thus, a suitable garbage bag size for this kitchen's trash can is 40 × 52 inches in width and height, respectively.

Here's a list of some standard garbage bag sizes commonly available:

Small garbage bag sizes (W × H):

• 09" × 12"
• 13" × 16"
• 16" × 18"
• 17" × 20"
• 19" × 25"

Medium garbage bag sizes (W × H):

• 20" × 22"
• 22" × 20"
• 24" × 22"
• 24" × 24"
• 26" × 36"
• 28" × 40"
• 30" × 38"
• 35" × 47"

Large garbage bag sizes (W × H):

• 36" × 50"
• 40″ × 46″
• 40″ × 50″
• 42" × 48"
• 43" × 48"
• 50″ × 48″
• 50″ × 60″
• 61″ × 68″

Garbage bags come in many colors and sizes. But what sets them apart is their thickness, usually measured in mil.

In the kitchen, we usually use medium, low-density garbage bags, ranging between 0.5 to 0.9 mil. They are economical and sufficient to dispose of every day's junk.

However, when we're renovating or cleaning our house, we require bags with more durability to resist broken glass, nails, wood shavings, and other sharp items. For that, bags between 2.0 to 3.0 mil are more suited.

But on the downside, the majority of these garbage bags end up as single-use plastic. And we already have more than 5 trillion plastic pieces floating in our oceans.

To determine how much we have unknowingly contributed to this wreckage, you can use the plastic footprint calculator and the bag footprint calculator.