Sizes & Bags

The best unscented trash bags

A scented bag does not remove an odor, it adds a second one on top. If that combination makes a kitchen worse rather than better - or if someone in the house reacts to fragrance - these are the fragrance-free boxes worth buying.

By Ryder M. · Last reviewed November 10, 2026

Green and white waste bins standing against a plain wall

Lid & Liner is reader-supported. If you buy through a link on this page we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It never changes which product we rank first — how we pick and how we make money.

The short answer

Buy Glad Medium Trash Bags, 8 Gallon, Fragrance Free. It is the only major-brand box here that is explicitly fragrance free rather than merely unlabeled, and the drawstring and material are the same ones Glad puts in its scented lines. For a heavier bag, the T.FORING 8 Gallon Unscented is 1.2 mil against the usual 0.7, which is the difference between a bag that splits on a wine bottle and one that does not. For a large can or an outdoor cart, the EKO 21 Gallon Unscented is the fragrance-free option at size. The cheapest way to buy unscented per liner is the Teivio 115-count black box.

#	Product	Best for	Price
01	Glad Medium Trash Bags, 8 Gallon, Fragrance Free with Drawstring, 26 CountGlad's medium drawstring in a fragrance-free version - the one to buy if a scented liner in a small room is the thing that bothers you.	Best unscented	$9.99 · View on Amazon Price as of November 14, 2026. #ad How we make money
02	T.FORING Medium 8 Gallon Drawstring Trash Bags, 1.2 Mil, Unscented, 100 CountAn unscented 8-gallon drawstring bag at a stated 1.2 mil - roughly the thickest film published at this size, in a 100-count.	Best heavy-duty	$16.99 · View on Amazon Price as of November 14, 2026. #ad How we make money
03	EKO 21 Gallon / 50-90 Liter Drawstring Trash Bags, Unscented, 60 CountAn unscented 21-gallon drawstring bag from a can maker, which is why it states a 50-90 liter fit range rather than a nominal capacity.	Best unscented	$18.55 · View on Amazon Price as of November 14, 2026. #ad How we make money
04	Teivio 8 Gallon Strong Drawstring Trash Bags, Black, 115 CountA black 8-gallon drawstring liner in a 115-count - the pick when the can is open-topped or the contents are nobody's business.	Best opaque liner	$15.49 · View on Amazon Price as of November 14, 2026. #ad How we make money
05	Plasticplace 20-30 Gallon Can Liners, 1.2 Mil, Black, 30 x 36 in, 125 CountThe liner to buy for a round 20-gallon utility can: 30 by 36 inches flat, 1.2 mil, with both numbers printed instead of a nominal gallon figure.	Best commercial liner	$31.69 · View on Amazon Price as of November 14, 2026. #ad How we make money

One honest caveat before the picks: "unscented" on a trash bag means no added perfume. It does not mean the plastic is odorless - low-density polyethylene has a faint smell of its own when a box is first opened, and it fades in a day.

Why people go fragrance free

The perfume is the problem, not the solution. A lavender bag over three-day-old chicken produces a smell that is worse than either. If you have ever opened a cupboard and recoiled, that is why.
Fragrance sensitivity is common. Scented liners sit in a closed cabinet and release into a kitchen all day. For anyone with asthma or migraine triggers, this is a real daily exposure and the easiest one to remove.
Scent hides the signal. A can that smells of nothing tells you when it needs emptying. A can that smells of citrus tells you nothing until it is far too late - which is also the argument in how often should you take out the trash.
Pets. Strongly scented liners attract some animals to the can rather than away from it.

If the odor itself is the thing you are trying to fix, a fragrance-free bag plus a carbon filter in the lid beats a perfumed bag every time. Trash can carbon filters explains which ones actually adsorb and which are decoration, and the best trash cans for odor control covers the cans built around them.

Who each pick is for

Pick	Who it is for	Count per box
Glad 8 Gallon Fragrance Free	A bathroom or small kitchen can, brand-name quality	26
T.FORING 8 Gallon Unscented, 1.2 mil	Heavy or sharp waste in a medium can	100
EKO 21 Gallon Unscented	A 50-90 liter can or a small outdoor cart	60
Teivio 8 Gallon Black	Cheapest per liner, and opaque so nothing shows	115
Plasticplace 20-30 Gallon Liner	A garage, workshop or commercial can - no drawstring	125

Counts and gauges are the manufacturers' own listing figures, as recorded in the product registry.

The picks in full

01 — Best unscented

Glad Medium Trash Bags, 8 Gallon, Fragrance Free with Drawstring, 26 Count

Glad's medium drawstring in a fragrance-free version - the one to buy if a scented liner in a small room is the thing that bothers you.

Capacity: 8 gallons / 30.3 liters
Count: 26 bags
Closure: Drawstring
Scent: None

Almost every 8-gallon bag on a shelf is scented, because the size lives in bathrooms and bedrooms and the category has decided that smells should be covered rather than removed. This is the exception. Same dimensions and the same drawstring as the Febreze version, with nothing added. In a bathroom cabinet or a nursery, where the bag sits inches from where you breathe, that is the difference between a liner you notice and one you do not.

What we'd flag: it is sold in a 26-count rather than the 80, so the per-bag cost is noticeably higher and you will reorder more often. A fragrance-free bag also does nothing about odor at all - the perfume was never fixing it either, but at least it was pretending. If smell is the actual problem, the fix is emptying sooner and cleaning the can.

$9.99 · View on Amazon

Price as of November 14, 2026. #ad How we make money

02 — Best heavy-duty

T.FORING Medium 8 Gallon Drawstring Trash Bags, 1.2 Mil, Unscented, 100 Count

An unscented 8-gallon drawstring bag at a stated 1.2 mil - roughly the thickest film published at this size, in a 100-count.

Capacity: 8 gallons
Count: 100 bags
Gauge: 1.2 mil (seller's figure)
Stated fit: 23-30 liter bins
Closure: Drawstring
Scent: None

The thing the name brands will not tell you at this size is the gauge. Glad's medium runs about 0.75 mil; this states 1.2. That difference is what decides whether a broken jar or a chicken carcass goes through the bottom on the walk to the curb. It is also unscented and the seller states a fit range in liters - 23 to 30 - which is more useful than a gallon number, because a 30-liter can is where most 8-gallon cans actually sit.

What we'd flag: this is a marketplace brand, not a household one, so availability and film quality are less predictable from order to order than Glad or Hefty. The stated 1.2 mil is the seller's own figure and we have no way to verify it independently. Buy one pack before you buy a case.

$16.99 · View on Amazon

Price as of November 14, 2026. #ad How we make money

03 — Best unscented

EKO 21 Gallon / 50-90 Liter Drawstring Trash Bags, Unscented, 60 Count

An unscented 21-gallon drawstring bag from a can maker, which is why it states a 50-90 liter fit range rather than a nominal capacity.

Capacity: 21 gallons
Fits cans: 50-90 liters (manufacturer figure)
Count: 60 bags
Scent: None
Closure: Drawstring, dispense roll

The useful thing here is the labeling. EKO builds cans, so its bags are specified against the thing they go into - 50 to 90 liters - and that is a far more actionable number than "21 gallon" when your can is sold in liters. It is also genuinely unscented, which matters more at this size than at eight gallons: a big can means a big surface of perfumed film in the room.

What we'd flag: no gauge is published, the 60-count is the smallest box on this page so the cost per bag is high, and the stated range is wide enough that at the 90-liter end you are relying on the drawstring stretching. EKO also sells a 110-count Code G version rated for 15-23 gallon cans if you want the same idea in a real count.

$18.55 · View on Amazon

Price as of November 14, 2026. #ad How we make money

04 — Best opaque liner

Teivio 8 Gallon Strong Drawstring Trash Bags, Black, 115 Count

A black 8-gallon drawstring liner in a 115-count - the pick when the can is open-topped or the contents are nobody's business.

Capacity: 8 gallons
Count: 115 bags
Closure: Drawstring
Color: Black, opaque
Scent: None stated

Most 8-gallon bags are white or translucent, and in an open-top bathroom or office bin that means the contents are on display. An opaque black liner solves a problem that the white bags simply do not address, and it is the standard choice in a bathroom, a bedroom, a home office or a rental where the can has no lid. The 115-count sits between the supermarket boxes and a full case on cost per bag.

What we'd flag: no gauge is published, so you are buying on the word "strong" rather than a number. A black liner also hides a leak until it has reached the floor, which is the trade you make for privacy - check the base of the can when you change it rather than assuming.

$15.49 · View on Amazon

Price as of November 14, 2026. #ad How we make money

05 — Best commercial liner

Plasticplace 20-30 Gallon Can Liners, 1.2 Mil, Black, 30 x 36 in, 125 Count

The liner to buy for a round 20-gallon utility can: 30 by 36 inches flat, 1.2 mil, with both numbers printed instead of a nominal gallon figure.

Capacity: 20-30 gallons
Flat size: 30 x 36 inches
Gauge: 1.2 mil
Count: 125 liners
Closure: None (flat top)

This is the other product that comes back when you search for 20-gallon bags, and it is a completely different object from a tall kitchen drawstring bag. Thirty inches flat gives roughly a 19-inch diameter, which is the width of a round 20-gallon utility container, and 36 inches of height gives you the cuff to fold over a rim with no retaining ring. Plasticplace printing both the gauge and the flat size is the reason this takes the pick over the dozen unbranded cases beside it.

What we'd flag: there is no drawstring, so in an open-top can it will slide unless you cuff it over the rim - and in a tall, narrow 20-gallon kitchen can it is the wrong shape entirely and will pool in the bottom. This is a drum and cart liner, not a kitchen bag.

$31.69 · View on Amazon

Price as of November 14, 2026. #ad How we make money

Getting the size right

Fragrance-free ranges are thinner than scented ones, so you have less choice of size and are more likely to end up with a bag that does not fit. Two pages fix most of that: what size trash bag for a 13-gallon can for the standard kitchen case, and why your trash bag does not fit for the one that is too small around rather than too short.

If you are buying in volume anyway, the unscented flat-pack liners in this list are the cheapest plastic per bag on the site - the best bulk trash bags has the full comparison, including the coded-liner alternatives.

The two unscented boxes we would restock: the Glad for a normal kitchen, the T.FORING when the bag has to survive something sharp.

Best unscented

Glad Medium Trash Bags, 8 Gallon, Fragrance Free with Drawstring, 26 Count

Glad's medium drawstring in a fragrance-free version - the one to buy if a scented liner in a small room is the thing that bothers you.

$9.99 · View on Amazon

Price as of November 14, 2026. #ad How we make money

Best heavy-duty

T.FORING Medium 8 Gallon Drawstring Trash Bags, 1.2 Mil, Unscented, 100 Count

An unscented 8-gallon drawstring bag at a stated 1.2 mil - roughly the thickest film published at this size, in a 100-count.

$16.99 · View on Amazon

Price as of November 14, 2026. #ad How we make money

Common questions

What is the best unscented trash bag?

Glad Medium Trash Bags, 8 Gallon, Fragrance Free. It is the one brand-name box here that is explicitly fragrance free, with the same drawstring and material as Glad's scented lines.

Do unscented trash bags smell of anything?

Only faintly, and only when the box is new. Low-density polyethylene has a mild plastic smell that fades within a day. There is no added perfume.

Are unscented bags worse at controlling odor?

No. Scent masks rather than removes. A fragrance-free bag plus a carbon filter in the lid controls odor better than a perfumed liner does.

What is the cheapest unscented trash bag?

Per liner, the 115-count Teivio 8 gallon box. Per box, the Glad fragrance-free 26-count is the smallest outlay to try.

Is there an unscented bag for a large outdoor can?

Yes. The EKO 21 gallon unscented box covers 50 to 90 liter cans, and the Plasticplace 20-30 gallon flat-pack liner covers commercial and garage cans.

What does 1.2 mil mean on a trash bag?

Mil is thickness in thousandths of an inch. Most kitchen bags are 0.7 to 0.9 mil; 1.2 mil is noticeably tougher and worth it for anything sharp.

Sources

Every specification on this page traces to one of these, checked at the time of writing. Where a manufacturer does not publish a figure, the page says so rather than estimating it.

The short answer

Why people go fragrance free

Who each pick is for

The picks in full

Glad Medium Trash Bags, 8 Gallon, Fragrance Free with Drawstring, 26 Count

T.FORING Medium 8 Gallon Drawstring Trash Bags, 1.2 Mil, Unscented, 100 Count

EKO 21 Gallon / 50-90 Liter Drawstring Trash Bags, Unscented, 60 Count

Teivio 8 Gallon Strong Drawstring Trash Bags, Black, 115 Count

Plasticplace 20-30 Gallon Can Liners, 1.2 Mil, Black, 30 x 36 in, 125 Count

Getting the size right

Glad Medium Trash Bags, 8 Gallon, Fragrance Free with Drawstring, 26 Count

T.FORING Medium 8 Gallon Drawstring Trash Bags, 1.2 Mil, Unscented, 100 Count

Common questions

What is the best unscented trash bag?

Do unscented trash bags smell of anything?

Are unscented bags worse at controlling odor?

What is the cheapest unscented trash bag?

Is there an unscented bag for a large outdoor can?

What does 1.2 mil mean on a trash bag?

Sources

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