Netherlands-based Van Beek has introduced a bag compactor that is designed to help production companies handle the empty bags they generate as cheaply and efficiently as possible, the company says.

The Clear Drop soft plastics compactor next to a pile of the bricks it produces. (Amy Skorheim for Engadget) Even if you bring home as few bags as possible — using reusable bags, carrying purchases ...

Here's my new habit: Whenever I take the plastic wrap off a roll of paper towels or some other package, it goes straight into my Obaggo, a personal trash compactor about the size of a coffee maker.