Without it, your cooking space becomes cluttered with food scraps and filled with unappetizing odors.
If you’re like me, you’ve stuck to a budget-friendly plastic bin the majority of your life, but thanks to innovations in the kitchen, including an array of smart home gadgets, there are numerous upgraded kitchen trash cans to consider. Motion sensors, voice control and odor filters are just some of the features you’ll find in modern trash cans.
To determine which kitchen trash cans are worth the investment, I spent several weeks with six of the most popular models I could find. My home looked like a trash can art installation, and don’t get me started on the smell. Be it leaving hard-boiled eggs or sardines in the cans to see if they blocked odors, my kitchen was its own petri dish of research, testing and odors.
In the end, one kitchen trash can earned a permanent spot in my apartment.
The Simplehuman Slim Step Can is sleek, convenient and durable, all essential features for a kitchen trash can that’s meant to last. The stainless steel material is easy to clean and the design makes it easy to take out the trash and replace the liner.
The Simplehuman Slim Step Can is proof that quality design makes a difference, even in seemingly mundane products like kitchen trash cans.
When I first pulled the Slim Step out of the box, my first thought was that it was incredibly sleek. I liked that its matte-black color complemented my kitchen tiles well, but I was more impressed by how its stainless steel finish was actually fingerprint-resistant. After weeks of moving the bin around, cleaning the exterior and relining the trash can, I indeed saw little to no fingerprint smudges on it.
The long design of the trash can makes it appear deceivingly small, but it has a 45-liter capacity. Once I placed it in a designated corner of my kitchen, I was ready to add the custom liner to the bin. That’s right, the Simplehuman trash cans I tested include custom-fit liners. It comes with a magnet displaying the liner size and a QR code to reorder the specific kind you need.
As someone who buys their trash bags in bulk and likely with a coupon, this attention to detail took me by surprise. I began my testing only using the included size N liners, which cost $32 for 100. I didn’t expect it to make a difference, but it was nice not to struggle, stretch or tie a liner around the rim of a can. I did use other trash bag brands too, and while the fit wasn’t always perfect, I was able to secure different kinds of liners, thanks to the can’s trim ring.
The trim ring is actually my favorite feature of the Slim Step. Attached to the back hinge, it easily lifts to meet the lid of the trash can. Clicking them together keeps the lid open, which is a game changer when it comes to replacing the liner. I can take my time cleaning and removing a full bag without keeping my foot on the pedal. When the liner is inside, the rim comes down and sits on top of the edge like an extra layer of protection from sagging trash bags. I no longer feared that my liner would fall into the bin, even when throwing away heavy items.
When it comes to throwing away garbage, there are no motion sensors or voice commands associated with the Slim Step. These advanced capabilities were nice on other trash cans I tested, but they aren’t actually necessary. The silver foot pedal of this kitchen trash can works as well as any tech gadget. Plus, it’s built to last for decades of stepping.
This bin also did decently well at masking odors. The Slim Step Can includes an odor filter that sticks to the top of the lid. It smelled nice, like a musky citrus blend. But it’s worth noting that no matter how strong the odor filter was, it was no match for the smell of days-old sardines and hard-boiled eggs.
After leaving those unappetizing leftovers in the can for a few days, I could smell them strongly when I opened the bin. If anything, it smelled like I sprayed perfume on top of the garbage, which is a better combination but still not pleasant. With the lid closed, however, the Slim Step effectively contained those odors. It was one of the only cans in my product pool that I could walk by without getting a whiff of its unpleasant odor.
If you’re still in the camp that a trash can is a trash can, I hear you. I initially scoffed at the idea that any kitchen trash can would make my life easier or merit an over-$100 price tag. I’m not saying the Simplehuman Slim Step made me excited to take out my garbage, but it has made the whole process better and easier. It’s sleek and compact, and I appreciate that it also includes a 10-year warranty. If you’re going to invest in a kitchen trash can, the quality of material and thoughtful design of this Simplehuman bin are worth it.
I had a total of six kitchen trash cans in my apartment over the span of several weeks. Along with reevaluating my personal trash habits, I filled these bins to the brim with discarded materials and kept an eye on the actual can itself. I pushed foot pedals to reveal odor filters, struggled to wipe the lid of motion-sensored cans and yelled, “Open can!” from across my apartment.
Keeping my kitchen tidy was the clear benefit of testing all these at once, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t dealing with any unpleasant smells. Quite the opposite, actually. I tested the limits of these trash cans’ ability to conceal odors and not a single one was perfect.
I can’t say that I’ve ever particularly enjoyed taking out the trash, but I got into a rhythm when testing the six featured in this guide. I relied on each model for several days, long enough to fill a bag. During the testing process, I evaluated each product on the following criteria.
When it comes to kitchen trash cans, the product landscape has undergone significant changes. “They’re starting to get smart and creative, ” said Jill Koch, author and founder of the cleaning blog Jill Comes Clean. “Not our grandparents’ trash cans anymore.”
As I tested various above-average trash cans, my initial hesitation morphed into curiosity. The Simplehuman voice command can could open the lid while my hands were full of runny eggshells. The lever on the Joseph Joseph trash can compacts waste in my bin to make room for more garbage (though this feature was faulty at times). There are even odor filters on certain cans’ lids, which I was extremely thankful for when it came to tossing hard-boiled eggs and sardines.
Are these higher-end trash cans convenient, sleek and high tech? Sure. But advanced capabilities also come with a steep price hike. So, what makes a trash can worth spending more than $100 on?
“To me, I look at the trash can as an entire user experience,” said Frank Yang, CEO and founder of Simplehuman. “Better function does elevate the experience.”
Yang’s team at Simplehuman focuses on eliminating the negative aspects of taking out garbage. He argued that a well-constructed model is worth the investment and is ultimately more sustainable. “You’re investing in something that’s going to work for a long time and you don’t have to worry about it,” he said. “Every time you change your trash, it’s easier.”
Smart technology aside, there are still well-constructed and affordable cans to choose from. Some I tested include motion detectors or rely on a pedal to open the lid. Either way, they get the job done.
Before purchasing a kitchen trash can, you’ll want to consider the following.
Plastics and stainless steel are common materials for kitchen trash cans, yet they handle food odors and bacteria differently. According to Koch and Yang, plastic bins can retain odors.
Jean Bonhotal, Director of the Cornell Waste Management Institute in Soil and Crop Sciences, said that this is because plastic is porous and can hold on to biofilms or microorganisms. “We have a lot of problems with biofilms being able to attach to plastics that we really can’t take off,” she said. “I might be able to get it off with some scrubbing if it’s a stainless steel can.”
Yang echoed this sentiment. “Stainless steel is naturally the most antimicrobial anti-odor material you have,” she added.
“If you wanna splurge on something like a nice trash can, the good news is that you are using it every single day,” Koch said. “It’s probably going to come down to what your time is worth.”
Thankfully, you don’t actually need an expensive kitchen trash can to maintain a clean kitchen. While advanced features made my life easier during testing, I also found that the simple models were an asset in my space.
Certain designs did make for a more convenient experience, though. Those with a larger bin capacity meant I took out the trash less often. Bins with larger openings were easier to clean, while those with motion sensors came in handy when cracking eggs in the morning.
Reflect on your habits and kitchen routine. Your time is valuable, and your kitchen trash can should make your life easier.
