Patent ID: 7252207

Claim:
An apparatus for supporting a liner entirely within a container, said container having an unobstructed opening defined by an inside top edge and having an oppositely disposed, substantially closed bottom, said apparatus comprising: a liner support element fitted entirely inside said container at a position in close proximity to the inside top edge of the unobstructed opening of said container, wherein a liner supported by said liner support element is supported entirely within said container; wherein the liner support element has an outer edge and said outer edge closely conforms to the inside top edge of said container along the full extent of the opening and wherein said outer edge of said liner support element substantially continuously supports along said full extent a liner which extends from inside said container and substantially continuously laps over said outer edge, wherein the lapped portion of the liner extends between the outer edge of the liner support element and the inside top edge of the container in intimate contact with the upper inside edge of the container, and thereby prevents waste materials from falling in between the liner and the inside top edge of the container, wherein the liner support element is supported by at least three legs, each leg extending from the top edge of the container along an inside surface of the container to the bottom of the container, each leg being coupled to said liner support element at a location substantially equally spaced around a peripheral portion thereof, with respect to each other leg, and wherein the liner support element is self-supporting within the container and is not supported by or engaged by attachment elements or supporting elements on an inside vertical surface of the container.