First invented by Canadian inventor Harry Wasylyk in 1950, trash bags are a 20th century miracle! Before them, we were just throwing trash, at best, into filthy metal cans, and at worst, directly into the ground or ocean. But following WWII, Wasylyk was experimenting with a new waterproof, stretchy material called polyethylene. You can learn more about the history of trash bags on this blog post by AAA Polymer.