Value for money

This week value for money compares the prices of bin bags

Rainbow drawstring refuse sacks, €1.92 for 10 bags, €0.19 per bag

Highs:These were very cheap but, in spite of their low cost, they were able to carry quite a heavy load. They have a usefully long red drawstring which makes tying them a lot easier, and although the first one we pulled immediately came away in our hands, the remainder proved to be considerably more robust. Unlike the competition, these bags weren't attached with perforated edges and it actually made getting the bags from a drawer (when our hands were full) a whole lot easier.

Lows:They are quite wide but not all that deep and while the bags can undoubtedly carry a lot of weight, they are a little on the thin side - so if you plan to put anything sharper than a teabag in these prepare to have to deal with the occasional rip.

Verdict:Fairly good value

Star rating: ***

Spar Jumbo Refuse Sacks, €2.69 for 10 bags, €0.27 a bag

Highs:As with all Spar own-brand products, there is a certain convenience factor to these, and they also scored extra points for being Irish-made. These seemed to be amongst the strongest we tried.

Lows:And if we hadn't really put them through their paces (okay, just filled them with rubbish over a couple of days) we might have been convinced they were a decent, functional product. Unfortunately, we did put them through their paces - and once they were filled with rubbish they almost immediately started to let themselves down. They were difficult to open fully and tore far too easily so, on more than one occasion, we found ourselves picking up rubbish that had tumbled out of unwanted holes in these bags.

Verdict:Only okay

Star rating: ***

Killeen Recycled Bin Bags, €1.85 for 10 bags, €0.18.5 per bag

Highs: Bin bags are perhaps the least glamorous product we have ever tried on this page and while there are very few recognised brands, Killeen is undoubtedly one of them.

Lows:You'd imagine that after making so many rubbish bags, Killeen would actually be quite good at it by now. If the bags we tried were anything to go by, they're not, not by a long shot. These were very poor indeed, and it was clear they wouldn't stand up to much. They were very thin and very flimsy and even when only half-filled with some not very sharp rubbish, the first one we used quickly developed three large holes so double bagging was required. We're not at all that sure what was so "extra large" about these bags either - they seemed pretty average-sized to us.

Verdict: Poor

Star rating: **

Biobags, €6.99 for 15 bags, €0.47 per bag

Highs:These light, coloured, almost transparent bags are 100 per cent compostable and biodegradable and, the manufacturer promises, will have completely degraded in between 10 and 45 days in the right composting conditions. They are a decent size and are very easy to line a plastic bin with and, if used to bag something like grass cuttings, they'd be hard to fault.

Lows:They are very, very thin, and reminded us just a little of an absolutely enormous condom and - having used nearly all the bags - we couldn't help thinking that a condom might have prove a little sturdier. The first bag we used split from end to end almost immediately. They were also considerably more expensive than the competition.

Verdict:Eco-friendly, but not for every job.

Star rating: ***

Tesco Heavy Duty Bin Bags, €2.59 for 10 bags, €0.26 per bag

Highs:These industrial-strength bags were the absolute business and came as a welcome relief after we had tried so many disappointing alternatives.

Tesco promises us heavy duty and that is exactly what we get. Despite being full to the brim with all sorts of heavy, sharp objects on a number of different occasions, not one hole appeared. There was never any need for double bagging and we reckon we could have probably filled this with bricks and swords without it tearing.

Lows:They are a bit thicker than the competition and tend to bunch up a bit when stuffed into a bin and we thought, given the fact that they are an own-brand product, they would have cost us a little bit less.

Verdict:Very good

Star rating: ****