Attribute Schema Library
Attribute schemajan-san

Trash Can Liner Attributes

Can liners are the highest-velocity consumable in jan-san. A distributor stocks several hundred SKUs across two resin families (LLDPE and HMW-HDPE), a dozen flat sizes, a handful of colors, and gauges from 0.35 to 4.0 mil. Buyers are facility managers, EVS directors, foodservice operators and public procurement — most reordering against a container, not a spec.

The data problem starts with the unit. LLDPE is specified in mils, HMW-HDPE in microns, and the two are not interchangeable as strength — yet most catalogs carry one "Thickness" column, so a filter set to 1.0 mil and up silently drops every high-density SKU. Capacity compounds it: gallons are a marketing range, not a measured volume. 40x46 and 40x48 both sell as "45 gallon."

Compliance moved too. California, Washington and New Jersey each set enforceable postconsumer-content minimums for plastic trash bags, New Jersey's tiered by film thickness. Red bag waste has a hard floor: 49 CFR 173.197 requires certification to 165 g (ASTM D1709) and 480 g (ASTM D1922). Most of it lives in a supplier PDF, not a field.

Core

Every SKU needs these. Without them the record is not a product, it is a row.

Manufacturer Part Number
identifier
TM48XK

The only stable key across the mill's catalog, the distributor's ERP and the customer's punchout. Reorders and cross-references resolve on it.

GTIN-14 (Case) / UPC (Inner)
identifier
10071561480043 (case)

Case and inner are different trade items. Marketplaces and GDSN reject a record that publishes an inner UPC against a case quantity.

Resin / Film Type
enum
LLDPE

Decides whether the liner stretches around sharp waste (LLDPE) or carries dense smooth loads at lower gauge (HMW-HDPE). Also governs the thickness unit.

Film Thickness (Gauge)
number · mil (LLDPE) / micron (HDPE)
1.50 mil

The most-filtered spec in the category. Store value + unit + resin: 1.5 mil and 16 micron are both "thick" and are not comparable to each other.

Flat Width
number · in
40 in

Roughly half the container's circumference. This, not gallons, decides whether the liner passes over the rim and sits on it.

Length (Flat)
number · in
46 in

Container height + half the diameter + about 3 in of overhang. Short liners slip into the can; long ones waste film and need banding.

Nominal Capacity
range · gal
40-45 gal

How buyers shop, even though it is a marketing range rather than a measured volume. Publish as a range; keep flat dimensions authoritative.

Color
enum
Black

Waste-stream coding: black for general refuse, clear/natural for recycling and security sweeps, red for regulated medical, blue for single-stream.

Bottom Seal Type
enum
Star Seal

Star seal conforms to the can with no corner gaps; gusset seals leak wet waste. First construction detail a foodservice buyer checks.

Case Pack Quantity
number · liners/case
100

Price-per-liner math and reorder points run off it. A case of 100 and a case of 250 at the same case price are not the same deal.

Differentiating

What buyers actually compare on. This is where catalogs win or lose the filter.

Packaging Format
enum
Coreless roll, perforated

Coreless rolls dispense from the carton and cut waste; flat pack pulls one at a time for cart work. Housekeeping crews have a standing preference.

Rated Load Capacity
number · lb
45 lb

The question buyers actually ask. Gauge is only a proxy; a rated load lets them size once instead of buying thickness as insurance.

Application / Waste Stream
enum
Regulated Medical Waste

Routes the SKU: general refuse, foodservice, recycling, regulated medical, construction. Determines which compliance fields are even required.

Case Weight
number · lb
27.6 lb

Freight class, pallet math and true cost per liner. Also the fastest tell that a "same spec" import case is running under gauge.

Compliance & identifiers

Standards, regulatory data, and the identifiers channels reject you for missing.

Country of Origin
identifier
United States

TAA / Buy American eligibility on public-sector contracts, plus duty and tariff classification. Asked on every government and university bid.

Postconsumer Recycled Content
number · %
20%

CA requires 10% RPPCM with annual CalRecycle certification; WA steps 10/15/20%; NJ tiers by mil. A boolean "recycled" flag answers none of them.

Dart Impact Resistance (ASTM D1709)
number · g
165 g

Manufacturer certification required for regulated medical waste film under 49 CFR 173.197. Hospital EVS will not buy a red bag without it.

Tear Resistance (ASTM D1922)
number · g
480 g

The other half of the red bag certification — required in both parallel and perpendicular planes. CA, FL and PA buyers require dual-tested film.

The fields that aren't in the schema at all

What most trash can liners catalogs are missing.

The table above is the schema most catalogs already have. These are the attributes that usually aren't in it — each one surfaced by a signal from the live market rather than by an audit of what's already there. This is what Anglera's Schema Foundry does on a real catalog, in this category.

Supplier signal
+ Rated Load Capacity (lb)

Manufacturer selection guides rate HMW-HDPE liners roughly 15-90 lb and LLDPE 10-75 lb by gauge, but distributor records carry gauge only. Buyers asking "how much will it hold" get a mil number.

Buyer defaults to the thickest gauge and overpays, or under-specs and the liner fails in the can. Neither is filterable, so the RFQ goes to whoever answered.

Search signal
+ Recommended Receptacle / Fitment

Buyers search by container — "liner for Rubbermaid Brute 2643" — not by flat size. Most catalogs expose gallons and flat dimensions but have no field linking a liner to the cans it fits.

Zero results on the highest-intent query in the category. Buyer sizes by gallons, gets a bag that slips into the can, and returns the case.

Supplier signal
+ Postconsumer Recycled Content (%) by jurisdiction

Catalogs carry a boolean "recycled" flag or a green leaf icon. California requires 10% RPPCM with annual CalRecycle certification; New Jersey tiers the minimum by mil. A boolean answers neither.

Public-sector and state-contract bids get screened out. Sales cannot confirm eligibility without emailing the mill for a certification letter.

Supplier signal
+ Certified Dart / Tear Values (ASTM D1709 / D1922)

Biohazard SKUs are tagged "red bag" or "infectious waste" with no certified gram values. 49 CFR 173.197 requires certification at 165 g dart and 480 g tear; CA, FL and PA buyers must confirm both.

Hospital EVS cannot verify dual certification from the page, so the SKU loses to a competitor that publishes the numbers — or ships and is rejected at receiving.

Competitor signal
+ Bottom Seal Type

Specialist can-liner rails filter on star, gusset and flat seal; broadline catalogs bury it in the description. Star seal is an eight-layer bottom and is why wet waste doesn't leak at the corners.

Foodservice buyers can't filter out gusset seals, ship a leaking liner into a kitchen, and switch vendor over a field that was in the supplier's PDF.

How Schema Foundry finds these

Messy in, governed out.

The same value, spelled every way jan-san suppliers spell it. A filter only works once they agree.

Resin / Film Type
LLDPELinear LowLin. Low DensityLOW DENSITYLLDL.L.D.P.E.
LLDPE

Jan-san says "low density" meaning LLDPE, but LDPE is a different resin. Collapsing them mis-sorts tear performance and the gauge unit.

Film Thickness (Gauge)
16 MIC16 micron16u.63 mil0.63 MIL63 ga
16 micron

Mil and micron in one column is the category's core defect. Normalize to the unit the resin is specified in, and store resin alongside.

Color
NaturalNatClearTranslucentNatrlMilky White
Natural

HDPE "natural" is translucent, not water-clear. Merging it into "Clear" makes buyers filtering for clear liners miss the entire HDPE shelf.

Bottom Seal Type
Star SealStar-SealSTARSEALStar BottomStar8-layer bottom
Star Seal

Six spellings across six mills means the facet never populates. Star vs gusset is a leak/no-leak distinction for wet waste.

What buyers ask

Every one of these should be answerable from the attributes above. If it isn't, that's a gap.

  • What size liner fits a 44-gallon Rubbermaid Brute?
  • Is 16 micron HDPE as strong as 1.0 mil LLDPE?
  • Will this hold wet kitchen waste without leaking at the corners?
  • How many pounds will this liner actually carry?
  • Does this meet the 10% postconsumer requirement for our California contract?
  • Is this bag certified to 165 g dart and 480 g tear for red bag waste?
  • How many liners per roll and how many rolls per case?
  • Why does the new vendor's "45 gallon" hang differently than my old one?

What channels require

The same SKU, different mandatory fields per destination.

Distributor site faceted search
Nominal CapacityFlat Width x LengthFilm Thickness + unitResinColorBottom Seal Type
Amazon Business
GTIN / UPCBrand + MPNItem Package QuantityUnit CountMaterialColor
GS1 GDSN trade item pool
GTIN-14GPC brick codeNet ContentCase hierarchyCountry of OriginTarget Market
Public-sector punchout (Ariba / Coupa)
UNSPSC codePostconsumer Recycled Content %Country of OriginContract SKUCase Pack Quantity

Trash Can Liners data, in practice

Why can't I compare a mil to a micron?

They measure the same dimension on two different films. A mil is 0.001 in; a micron is 0.001 mm; 1 mil = 25.4 micron. The arithmetic converts, but the strength comparison does not, because the resins fail differently. HMW-HDPE at 16 micron (0.63 mil) will out-carry LLDPE of the same measured thickness on smooth, dense loads, and split on a broken pallet strap that LLDPE would stretch around. That is why the trade specifies LLDPE in mils and HDPE in microns and never cross-quotes them. In a catalog, store thickness as value + unit + resin, and make the filter facet on resin first.

How do I size a liner to a container instead of guessing by gallons?

Measure the can, not the label. For a round can, flat width is roughly half the circumference (pi x diameter / 2). Length is roughly container height + half the diameter (to form the bottom) + about 3 in of overhang. For a rectangular can, flat width is roughly the sum of two adjacent sides. A liner sized this way sits on the rim without banding and does not slip. Gallon capacity is the wrong input: 40x46 and 40x48 are both sold as "45 gallon" and they hang differently in the same receptacle. Keep flat width and length authoritative and treat nominal capacity as a shopping aid.

Do I need a separate SKU per state for recycled content?

Usually not a separate SKU, but you do need the number on the record. California's recycled-content trash bag law requires 10% postconsumer material by weight (or 30% across the manufacturer's California plastic products), certified annually to CalRecycle — non-compliant suppliers are ineligible for state contracts. Washington steps its minimum from 10% to 15% to 20%. New Jersey tiers by film thickness, so a 1.0 mil liner faces a higher percentage than a 0.8 mil one. One PCR% field read against thickness answers all three; a "recycled: yes" checkbox answers none.

Does bottom seal type actually change anything?

For wet waste, yes. A star seal is deep-gusseted, folded and heat-sealed through eight layers, so there are no corner gaps, the bag conforms to the can, and load spreads around the bottom. A gusset seal is sealed through four layers at the edges and two in the middle, putting a weak point exactly where liquid pools — it is a foodservice-bag construction, not a receptacle construction. Flat seal is a simple two-layer bottom, strong but prone to corner leaks, and it is what you get at the heaviest gauges where a star seal is not manufacturable. If you sell into kitchens, make it a facet.

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