We’re 20 years into the 21st century; surely we have attained peak efficiency when it comes to garbage bags. But while the bags themselves have fully saturated the market and are considered essential tools in the household, the technology has left much to be desired. They’re still prone to bugs, aesthetically questionable, and lacking in ideal storage capacity. In a recent Kitchen Keynote hosted by actress, speaker and trash power-user Angela Kinsey, Glad unveiled ForceFlexPlus, a new iteration of trash bag that promises big changes. Not like, retina-scanning or self-disposing changes. Imagine the cost! But the kind, they say, that could be considered the greatest innovation ever (in trash).
First, there’s the question of what needs improving in trash bags. These products still generally fall short when it comes to preventing leaks and avoiding messy system breaches in the form of rips, tears, and punctures. Just as people want their online data to remain private, they want their less-than-savory household garbage to remain discretely contained. And they want to be able to cram in more of it. The research and development team at Glad targeted three key elements that have traditionally been weak spots in most garbage bags: the sides, the bottom, and the material of the bag itself. Followers of garbage technology may recognize that, in other words, they’ve revamped the entire trash bag.
Perhaps the most important development is two strong seams on each side, which hold in leaks at a critical juncture—ever seen one of those things burst? Not anymore: Glad has identified the ideal number of seams required for side strength, and it is exactly between one and three seams. The reinforced bottom comes in next to optimize storage where the bag’s capacity is most strained and prone to punctures. Some of trash’s scariest moments come when the bag, removed from its bin constraints, sags under its garbage-y pressure—Glad developers have responded by adding more support to the lowest reaches of the bag. Finally, LeakGuard technology helps the bag stretch further and prevent leaks, strengthening the bag from every angle using two layer protection. All together, the system prevents punctures, leaks, odors, and bugs more consistently than any previous generation of the Glad trash bag.
The bags have been put through rigorous stress-testing that simulates the trash experience from carton to curb. “The scientists performed stretch, strength, and tear resistance tests to discover the limits of the bag,” said a Glad representative. “Our bags were filled with liquid or other materials to see how much weight they could hold before a trash nightmare would wreck a consumer’s day.” The bags have stood up to thousands of apps (the jalapeño popper kind, not the digital kind), significantly cut down on LPW (Leaks Per Walk), and reduced expletives shouted in front of children due to said leaks by 357.6 percent. At the Kitchen Keynote, actress and speaker Angela Kinsey, demonstrated these outcomes with some the leakiest and most stressful known garbage bag inputs, including chunky salsa, old soup, and a great deal of nickels. These are, of course, worst-case scenarios that should give everyday users confidence that their bags will withstand even the strangest kitchen disasters.
Glad designed ForceFlexPlus with power users in mind, “someone who makes the most out of each moment and wants a trash bag that won’t slow her down with leaks,” said the representative. One such user is the Kitchen Keynote speaker herself, Kinsey, who lives in a busy household of five and recommends the bags for all kinds of garbage, from cooking and craft messes to slime projects gone wrong. Kinsey calls ForceFlexPlus “the futurization of trash. In a world of smartphones, smart TVs and smart lights, we’ve created something that actually makes you the smart one, simply by using it.”
For more casual users and potential late adopters, Glad has upped its offerings. The bag features a gray color—a futuristic departure from the industry’s usual white and black choices—as well as a visually fascinating wavy pattern surrounding diamond shapes. There’s an element of customization in the form of scents, for those who want their trash bag to reflect who they are—whether that’s Gain Original, Fresh Clean, Mediterranean Lavender, or Gain Moonlight Breeze. How exactly can one identify as Gain Moonlight Breeze? That’s up to each customer to decide! Not to mention, as the representative says, “upgrading your trash to ForceFlexPlus comes with a protection plan—a state-of-the-art reinforced bottom and dual side seams for two times more leak protection.”
This story was produced by WIRED Brand Lab for Glad.
