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.

Showcasing at CES 2026, Soft Plastic Compactor by Clear Drop is designed to prepare soft plastics for recycling the moment they are discarded.

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.

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 ...