What size trash bag fits a 13-gallon can

A 13-gallon "tall kitchen" bag is the intended match, and it will overhang the rim of a 13-gallon can by roughly three to five inches. That is not a defect. Bags are deliberately cut oversized so one size fits a range of cans, and every major brand does it.

The useful question is therefore not which bag to buy — it is how much overhang to expect and whether your can has a way to hide it. Cans solve that three ways: a retaining ring that grips the bag by the rim, a liner rim that holds the fold, or a proprietary liner cut to that exact can.

Here is the part that makes the overhang concrete. These are published dimensions for bags all sold as 13 gallons.

Look at the length column. Four bags, all labeled 13 gallons, ranging from 27 to 31 inches — a four-inch spread, which is most of the overhang people complain about. The flat width is much more consistent at 23.75 to 24 inches, which is why bags generally do wrap a 13-gallon can even though they sit at very different heights.

The 14-16 gallon problem

That row is where people get stuck, and it deserves calling out. Plenty of cans are sold at 14, 15 and 16 gallons — 55 and 60-liter kitchen cans are common — but there is no standard household bag at that size. A 13-gallon bag barely reaches and slips down as it fills; a 20-30 gallon bag is enormous and wastes material.

The practical answers: buy the longest 13-gallon bag you can find (the Plasticplace 31-inch example above rather than a 27-inch one), use a can with a retaining ring or liner rim, or accept the brand's own coded liners if the can uses them. Why the ladder has this gap.

If your can is not in the matrix, two rules get you there. Both are shown so you can check them against a bag you already own.

Rule 1 — flat width against rim circumference

A flat bag opened out forms a tube whose circumference is twice the flat width. A 24-inch flat bag makes a 48-inch tube. For the bag to wrap the rim without stretching, that tube circumference needs to be at least the rim circumference, plus a little for the fold. So: flat width should be a little over half your rim circumference. A 13-gallon can with a 44-inch rim needs at least 22 inches flat, which is why 24-inch bags fit comfortably.

Rule 2 — length against internal height

The bag has to reach the floor of the can and still have material to fold over the lip. Length should be internal height plus about eight inches. A can with a 20-inch internal height wants a 28-inch bag — which is exactly why the 27 to 27.75-inch bags in the table above fit most 13-gallon cans and the 31-inch one overhangs noticeably more.

Measure those two numbers on your can and the guesswork disappears. How to measure, in ninety seconds. And if the bag still slides down the inside once fitted, that is a different problem with a different fix.