Pneumatic trash can

A trash receptacle comprising:

• a. a container for accepting a flexible trash bag, said container having a top opening, a continuous side wall, and a bottom, said bottom having an opening therethrough;
• b. a bag stop disposed within the container for supporting a trash bag above the bottom of the container, said bag stop comprising a surface attached to the side wall, said surface having a plurality of holes therethrough;
• c. a base section attached to the bottom of the container;
• and,
• d. at least one air blower disposed within the base section, said at least one air blower configured for moving air between the interior of the container and the exterior of the container in both directions by moving air through the opening in the bottom of the container.

A method of using a trash receptacle with an existing flexible trash bag, said method comprising the steps of:

• a. providing a trash receptacle, said trash receptacle comprising:
• i. a container for accepting a flexible trash bag, said container having a top opening, a continuous side wall, and a bottom,
• ii. a bag stop disposed within the container for supporting a trash bag above the bottom of the container, said bag stop comprising a surface attached to the side wall, said surface having a plurality of holes therethrough, and
• iii. at least one air blower adapted for evacuating air from the interior of the container below the bag stop and for blowing air into the interior of the container below the bag stop;
• b. installing an empty trash bag having an opening, said installation comprising the steps of:
• i. aligning the opening in the trash bag with the top opening of the container by wrapping the edge of the trash bag opening around the edge of the opening in the container;
• and,
• ii. activating the air blower such that air located within the container between the outer surface of the trash bag and the side wall of the container is evacuated from the container, thereby conforming the flexible trash bag to the interior shape of the container;
• c. removing a trash bag from the trash receptacle, said trash bag filled with a quantity of trash such that the exterior of the bag is substantially conformed to the shape of the interior surface of the side wall of the container, said removal comprising the steps of:
• i. activating the air blower such that air is blown into the interior of the container below the bag stop such that air pressure is added to the interior of the container below the filled trash bag;
• and,
• ii. lifting the filled trash bag out of the container.