Washable and Reusable Wastebasket Liner Made of Cloth

Abstract

A wastebasket liner constructed of a cloth material which is washable and reusable.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to wastebasket liners, and more particularly relates to a wastebasket liner which is made of a cloth material which is washable making the liner reusable many times over.

Indoor wastebaskets come in many shapes and sizes and are commonly placed in rooms such as, bathrooms, bedrooms, offices, etc. The owner typically places a plastic liner in the receptacle to facilitate emptying the receptacle and protect the wastebasket from becoming dirty. Once the plastic liner is filled, the owner removes it from the wastebasket and puts it into a larger outdoor trash receptacle for pick-up by the garbage collector. In rural areas, owners may bring their garbage directly to a dump. The plastic liners may be separately purchased, however, homeowners have become accustomed to using the now widely used plastic grocery bags as wastebasket liners. While this saves the person some money in not having buy separate plastic liners, it adds to the amount of plastic ending up in landfills. While this is an undesirable outcome for most people, and particularly to environmentally conscious people, there are no suitable non-plastic wastebasket liner alternatives presently available. There therefore exists a need for a wastebasket liner which is constructed so that the liner may be easily emptied, washed (as needed) and reused many times over.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention addresses the above need by providing a wastebasket liner which is washable and reusable and is preferably made of cloth of natural (e.g., cotton) or synthetic fibers (e.g., nylon) or blends thereof. The liner includes a handle, sewn or otherwise affixed on the outer surface thereof, adjacent the bottom of the liner. The handle may be used to facilitate the emptying of a full liner into a separate receptacle. The perimeter of the liner opening may be provided with an elastic such that the liner may be folded over the top edge of the wastebasket and kept in place during use. The liner may be provided in various sizes so as to fit within wastebaskets of respectively various sizes, although a typical size would be approximately the same size as a conventional plastic grocery bag.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a bottom view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of a wastebasket with liner;

FIG. 4 is the view of FIG. 3 showing the process of attaching or removing the liner from a wastebasket;

FIG. 5 is the view of FIG. 4 showing the process of removing a full liner from the wastebasket; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the process of emptying trash from a full liner.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to the drawing, there is seen in FIGS. 3-6 a conventional wastebasket 10 having a bottom 12, and a side wall 14 terminating in an upper rim 16 to define an interior space 18. Wastebaskets may be used with or without a liner but many people prefer to use a liner to facilitate emptying the receptacle and to keep the wastebasket clean.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a wastebasket liner according to the invention comprises a cloth liner 20 having a bottom wall 22 and side wall 24 extending to an open top 26 having a top perimeter 28. Liner 20 has an outer surface 24a and an inner surface 24b. A handle 30, which may also be formed of cloth, is sewn or otherwise affixed to outer surface 24a adjacent bottom wall 22.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4 the liner 20 is placed to line the interior of a wastebasket 10. The liner top perimeter 28 may have an elastic or other securing mechanism sewn or otherwise attached thereto such that the liner top perimeter 28 may be folded over wastebasket upper rim 16 and secured in position. This will prevent the liner from collapsing into wastebasket 10.

As seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, once the liner 20 is full of trash, a person 40 may unsecure liner perimeter 28 from wastebasket rim 16, gather the top of the liner and pull the liner out of the wastebasket 14. As seen in FIG. 6, the liner may be emptied into another trash receptacle (not shown) by inverting and optionally shaking the liner 20 while holding handle 30 until the trash 50 falls out of the liner 20. If the liner 20 is soiled, it may be washed and dried and used again in wastebasket 10.

The invention thus provides an environmentally friendly wastebasket liner that may be used multiple times prior to discarding it.

Claims

1. A washable, reusable wastebasket liner having a bottom wall and side wall extending to an open top having a perimeter, said liner having an interior surface and outer surface, said liner formed of cloth and including a handle affixed to said outer surface adjacent said bottom wall.

2. The liner of claim 1 wherein the liner is made of natural fiber cloth, synthetic fiber cloth, or a blend thereof.