Method and apparatus for cleanly storing and disposing of discarded articles

A unitary, disposable, fluid-trapping receptacle for discarded articles, the receptacle comprising:

• (a) a rear panel having a back wall, two side walls projecting from said back wall, and a floor extending from said back wall at an acute angle interconnecting said side walls to form a reservoir for trapping fluid contained in the discarded articles, said reservoir having an entry bounded by said back wall, said side walls, and an edge of said floor extending between said side walls separated from said back wall;
• (b) a face panel pivotably attached to said edge of said floor by an integral hinge, said face panel being engagable with said side walls to close a first portion of said entry and to retain said face panel in an opposing relationship with said back wall;
• (c) fastening means on said face panel and said side walls for retaining said face panel and said back wall in said opposing relationship;
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• (d) a lid pivotably attached to said back wall at said entry, said lid having a closed position blocking a second portion of said entry comprising substantially all of said entry distinct from said first portion thereof.

A disposable, fluid-trapping, support-mountable receptacle for discarded articles, the receptacle comprising:

• (a) a rear panel having a back wall for mounting to the support, two side walls projecting from said back wall in a direction opposite the support, and a floor interconnecting said side walls and said back wall, said floor being inclined upwardly from said back wall when said receptacle is mounted to the support to form in combination with said back wall and said side walls an open-topped reservoir for trapping fluid from the discarded articles;
• (b) a face panel in an opposing relationship with said back wall attached to said side walls and to said floor at a point therebetween to form above said reservoir an enclosure accessible through an opening formed between the top of said face panel and the top of said back wall;
• (c) a tortuous passageway between said enclosure and said opening;
• and
• (d) a lid pivotably attached to said top of said back wall, to occlude said opening in a closed position of said lid.

A system for cleanly storing and disposing of discarded articles, said system comprising:

• (a) a rear panel having a back wall for mounting to a support, two side walls projecting from said back wall in a direction opposite the support, and a floor interconnecting said side walls and said back wall, said floor being inclined upwardly from said back wall when said receptacle is mounted on the support to form in combination with said back wall and side walls an open-topped reservoir for trapping fluid from the discarded articles;
• (b) a face panel attached to said floor of said rear panel between said side walls by an integral hinge, said face panel being pivotable about said hinge into an opposing relationship with said back wall and a mating relationship with said side walls to form above said reservoir an enclosure accessible through an opening formed between the top of said face panel and the top of said back wall;
• (c) fastening means on said face panel and on said sides of said rear panel for retaining said face panel and said back wall in said opposing relationship;
• (d) a lid attached to said top of said back wall by an integral lid hinge, said lid being pivotable about said lid hinge to occlude said opening to said enclosure in a closed position of said lid;
• (e) a mounting finger on the exterior of said back wall of said rear panel;
• (f) a base plate securable to the support;
• (g) a lid-biasing flap resiliently mounted at the top of said base plate for urging said lid into said closed position thereof when said receptacle is secured to said mount;
• (h) a locking plate slidably mounted to said base plate for movement between a receiving position in which said mounting finger is free of said locking plate and a retaining position in which said mounting finger is captured by said locking plate to secure said receptacle to said base plate, said locking plate being biased into said retaining position thereof;
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• (i) a key insertable between said receptacle and said base plate to free said mounting finger from said locking plate by moving said locking plate from the retaining to the receiving position thereof.

A method for cleanly storing and disposing of discarded articles, said method of comprising the steps:

• (a) releasably mounting on a support a disposable receptacle having an enclosure for the articles and therebelow an open-topped reservoir for trapping fluid from the articles;
• (b) depositing discarded articles in the receptacle;
• (c) removing said receptacle with the discarded articles deposited therein from said support;
• and
• (d) disposing of said receptacle with the discarded articles therein.