# Trash Bag Size Chart: What Size Do You Need, and What Does Mil Mean?

Source: https://www.safeway.com/shopping-guides/paper-cleaning-and-home/tableware-and-trash-bags/trash-bags/trash-bag-size-chart-what-size-do-you-need-and-what-does-mil-mean-6lbvad
Updated: 2026-08-25

Most kitchen trash cans take a 13 gallon tall kitchen bag. Bathroom and office wastebaskets take 4 gallon bags, and garage and outdoor cans take 30 gallon bags or bigger. The chart below lists the common sizes at Safeway, with the flat size and plastic thickness from the label, so you can match a bag to your can before you buy.

## Trash Bag Size Chart

| Size | Use it for | Flat size (in) | Thickness |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 3 gal | Compost pail | 16.9 × 18 | 0.71 mil |
| 4 gal | Bathroom or office bin | 17 × 18 | 0.5 mil |
| 8 gal | Bedroom or small kitchen bin | 22 × 24 | 0.5 mil |
| 13 gal | Kitchen can | 23¾–24⅜ × 25⅛–28 | 0.6–0.9 mil |
| 18 gal | Trash compactor | 25⅝ × 28 | 1.9 mil |
| 30 gal | Garage or outdoor can | 30 × 34 | 1.05 mil |
| 39 gal | Yard waste | Not listed | 1 mil |
| 42 gal | Heavy debris | Not listed | 3 mil |

Sizes come from Safeway's own brands: Signature SELECT for most rows, Open Nature for the 3 gallon compostable bag, and Value Corner as one of the three 13 gallon kitchen bags. The 42 gallon contractor bag is Hefty. Safeway doesn't list the flat size for the two biggest bags.

[**Open Nature Trash Bags Compostable Small**](https://www.safeway.com/shop/product-details.960495289.html)

[**Signature SELECT Garbage Bags Small 4 Gallon**](https://www.safeway.com/shop/product-details.130070030.html)

[**Signature SELECT Garbage Bags Medium With Twist Tie 8 Gallon**](https://www.safeway.com/shop/product-details.130070022.html)

[**Signature SELECT Tall Kitchen Bags With Drawstring 13 Gallon**](https://www.safeway.com/shop/product-details.960019788.html)

[**Value Corner Kitchen Bags Drawstring Tall 13 Gallon**](https://www.safeway.com/shop/product-details.960076970.html)

[**Signature SELECT Trash Compactor Bags 18 Gallon**](https://www.safeway.com/shop/product-details.173500001.html)

[**Signature SELECT Flex Large Bags With Drawstring 30 Gallon**](https://www.safeway.com/shop/product-details.960018176.html)

[**Signature SELECT Lawn & Leaf Bags With Drawstring 39 Gallon**](https://www.safeway.com/shop/product-details.960019831.html)

[**Hefty Trash Bags Contractor Flap Tie Load & Carry Heavy Duty 42 Gallon**](https://www.safeway.com/shop/product-details.970008656.html)


## How to Measure Your Can

The gallons on the box roughly match the can, so a 13 gallon can takes a 13 gallon bag. If you don't know your can's size, or bags keep slipping in or pulling tight, measure it and compare with the flat size on the box.

**Width:** for a round can, measure around the outside of the rim and divide by two. For a square or rectangular can, add the length of one side to the length of the side next to it. Choose a bag whose flat width is at least that number.

**Length:** measure the height of the can, add half the width of the bottom, then add 3 to 4 inches to fold over the rim. That's the flat length you want.

For example, the Signature SELECT Tall Kitchen bag is 24⅜ inches wide when flat, so it opens to fit a rim up to about 48 inches around. Its 27⅜-inch length leaves room to fold over the top of most kitchen cans.

## Drawstring or Flap Tie

Signature SELECT calls its kitchen closure "Elastic Drawstring Fits & Grips." Its small 4 gallon and medium 8 gallon boxes say "Flap Tie." A drawstring grips the rim and pulls closed. Flaps tie into a tight knot. Hefty contractor bags have flaps with handles for lifting a full load.

In a review titled "Garbage bags," one shopper wrote: "Like the way they fit over rim of the can. Easy to install".

## What Mil Measures

A mil is one thousandth of an inch, and it tells you how thick the plastic is. It's usually printed after the flat size, as in "17 in x 18 in x 0.5 mil." Words like "Ultra Strong," "ForceFlex," "MaxStrength," and "Extra Strong" are easier to spot, but each brand uses its own terms, so the mil figure is the number to compare.

As the chart shows, thickness climbs with the job. Wastebasket bags are 0.5 mil, kitchen bags 0.6 to 0.9 mil, the 30 gallon bag 1.05 mil, compactor bags 1.9 mil, and Hefty labels its 42 gallon Load & Carry Contractor bag "Extra Thick 3 MIL."

Some bags have more than one thickness. The Signature SELECT Kitchen Flex value pack prints "1.64 mil (top)/0.82 mil (body)" and calls the upper part a "Reinforced top," so the drawstring hem is about twice as thick as the rest of the bag.

[**Signature Select Trash Bags Kitchen Flex Value Pack 110 Bags**](https://www.safeway.com/shop/product-details.970988845.html)


Mil measures total thickness, not how the plastic is built. Seventh Generation labels its 0.9 mil bag "3-PLY FOR STRENGTH AND DURABILITY," and bags with the same total thickness can be built differently.

A Signature SELECT kitchen bag review titled "They work" says: "They work, tight enough around the top. Also don't bust open at the bottom."

The Signature SELECT Lawn & Leaf label lists 1 mil. A review of it titled "I ❤️ my trash bags!" says, "Nice and thick, heavy duty. I use for regular trash instead of lawn & leaf. I'm very happy with product."

## Scented, Unscented, and Front-of-Box Claims

Glad's fragrance-free tall kitchen bag prints "free From Fragrance" and "7 in 1 BENEFITS" on the front, where no mil figure is shown.

[**Glad Forceflex Fragrance Free Tall Kitchen Drawstring Trash Bags 13 Gallon**](https://www.safeway.com/shop/product-details.970751370.html)

[**Hefty Trash Bags Drawstring Multipurpose Extra Strong 30 Gallon**](https://www.safeway.com/shop/product-details.173500151.html)


A review of Signature SELECT medium bags titled "Good value" explains the choice: "I like the tie flaps on bags. These bags are the perfect size for the multiple waste baskets we have throughout the house. I also really appreciate these bags are unscented. I cannot tolerate strong chemical scents, so these are perfect for me."

One reviewer uses an unscented lawn bag as a box liner. Their review, titled "Unscented durable and flexible multiple use greatness," says, "I love that these bags have no scent whatsoever and have a variety of uses. I line shipping boxes with them for items I ship to my family out of state. Durable and flexible item."

## Compostable and Recycled-Content Bags

Compostable means a bag can break down in the right composting conditions. Open Nature's 3 gallon food scrap bag prints "COMPOSTABLE*" and carries the BPI COMPOSTABLE mark. It's sized for a countertop compost pail. In a review titled "Kitchen bags," one shopper wrote: "I love the size for kitchen scraps." Another, titled "awesome compostable bags," calls it a "great product for your scrap waste".

Recycled content describes what the bag is made from. Seventh Generation's box says "MADE WITH 65% POST CONSUMER RECYCLED PLASTIC." It's still a plastic bag.

## Common Questions

### What size is a standard kitchen trash bag?

13 gallons. At Safeway the flat size of a 13 gallon kitchen bag runs from about 23¾ to 24⅜ inches wide and 25⅛ to 28 inches long, depending on the brand. Compare the flat size with your can if a bag slips or pulls tight.

### What size trash bag do I need for a bathroom trash can?

Most bathroom wastebaskets take a 4 gallon bag. Signature SELECT's small 4 gallon bag is 17 by 18 inches flat.

### What does mil mean on a box of trash bags?

Mil measures plastic thickness. One mil equals one thousandth of an inch. It gives you a number you can compare across brands, since strength words aren't measured on a shared scale. It can't tell you how many layers a bag has or how it will hold up with a particular load.

### Can you use a 30 gallon bag in a 13 gallon can?

Yes, if it can sit securely on the rim. The bigger bag will bunch up and leave extra plastic inside or around the can. A 13 gallon bag usually fits a kitchen can more neatly.

### What can I use if I run out of trash bags?

Use a bigger bag from another can if it can grip the rim. A paper grocery sack can hold dry waste, though liquids can weaken it.

### Can you buy trash bags with EBT?

SNAP covers food, so trash bags are not eligible. At Safeway, the register splits a mixed basket between EBT and your other payment method automatically.

### Do compostable trash bags break down in a regular trash can?

Not in a way that helps. Compostable bags need a compost pile or a commercial composting facility to break down, so in a landfill they behave much like other trash. Use them for food scraps that go to compost. Open Nature's package says its bags are certified for both commercial facilities and backyard composting, and tells shoppers to check whether a commercial facility exists locally.