Even worse, imagine the germs and bacteria growing on the surface, ready and waiting to make you sick and steal one of your precious personal days. What you need is a touchless trash can.
Motion sensor trash cans never have to be touched when you’re throwing away garbage. Motion sensors are built into the trash can, which automatically opens the lid when it detects something is nearby. It’s incredibly convenient in more ways than one.
Here are the best motion sensor trash cans available today.
Q: What Advantages Does a Motion Sensor Trash Can Offer?
Long story short: cleanliness. A trash can is ground zero for icky germs and bacteria that can cause illness when handled improperly. The chances you’ll catch something increases the more you interact with a trash can.
For starters, the design is sleek with a surprising number of finishes that will fit into any color scheme. Secondly, it doesn’t take up a large amount of space; the Simplehuman 58 Liter Trash Can Recycle is taller than it is wide for a narrower fit. More importantly, there are separate compartments for recycling and trash. If you weren’t recycling before, now’s your chance.
What’s arguably the best aspect of the Simplehuman 58 Liter Trash Can Recycler is how little you have to interact with it. The trash can has voice and motion sensors, which the former comes in handy when your hands are full. And to save space, there’s a built-in liner for trash bags. To keep everything secure, the liner rim secures everything in place, while also keeping hiding the edges of the trash bags.
The iTouchless 13 Gallon SensorCan Kitchen Trash Can is designed with a lid that automatically opens based on motion. It’s remarkably responsive and will pick up on your intention from six inches away. And if you need to make more than one trip, with full hands, there’s a “Stay Open” mode that is very handy.
What the iTouchless 13 Gallon SensorCan Kitchen Trash Can does best of all is its built-in odor filter. Don’t like the smell of garbage? Well, this particular iTouchless trash can uses activated carbon to soak up those horrible smells and neutralize them. Your kitchen will go on smelling like a kitchen rather than a landfill.
The NINESTARS CB-DZT-50-9/8-1 Automatic Trash Can is the perfect choice if you simply need a few trash cans with automatic lids. It accomplishes this with infrared sensors, which are easily blocked with your hand or body. What’s great is that both units have automatic lids, not just the large kitchen trash can; it makes disposing of sensitive material easier without touching the can.
Speaking of the trash can itself, the NINESTARS CB-DZT-50-9/8-1 Automatic Trash Can has three essential parts: the trash can, the bucket liner, and the ring liner. All are easily removable in the event they need to be cleaned. In fact, the outer brushed metal cleans up quite nicely with a rag and some cleaner.
The ELPHECO 2.5 Gallon Motion Sensor Trash Can is quite small and slim, making it easy to fit in just about any room, bathroom, or otherwise. Best of all, the activated carbon filter traps any unwanted odors from leaking out.
Equally important is the ELPHECO 2.5 Gallon Motion Sensor Trash Can’s battery life. If you rarely use it, you’ll get a good three months out of use, possibly longer. Set it up in your bathroom and forget about it.
The EKO Mirage X 80 Liter Motion Sensor Trash Can has a massive capacity, the largest size being 21.1 gallons. With the right trash bag, you would drastically cut back on the number of visits you make to the trash can. And don’t worry about smells building up; there’s a deodorizer compartment to keep the stench at bay.
Since the trash can is notorious for housing a myriad of germs, the less you have to interact with it, the better. That sentiment is carried on by one crucial feature of this product: an automatic lid. All you have to do is walk near the trash can and the lid opens using motion sensor technology. And if you happen to have your hands full, there’s an option to manually open the lid and keep it open until you’re finished.
What the Glad Stainless Steel Trash Can does best is combat odor, which is especially helpful if you opt for the 20-gallon capacity model. It creates an airtight seal in conjunction with Clorox odor protection to trap smells, neutralize them, and keep your kitchen from smelling like a landfill.
Another wonderful aspect is how little it has to be touched. Since it has an automatic door and a fingerprint-resistant finish, it hardly ever needs to be cleaned, and you rarely touch the surface. There’s even a compartment in the back to store trash bags.
The Ninestars Infrared Trash Can Recycler removes the need to rearrange your entire kitchen. By having two compartments—one for garbage, the other for recycling—garbage can be placed in its appropriate place. And since it’s tall, slender, and has a high capacity, it will fit into any home.
Best of all, you rarely have to touch the Ninestars Infrared Trash Can Recycler, other than changing the trash bags. It has an infrared motion sensor powered by four D batteries. Although the automatic lid has a small delay, it isn’t a design flaw. It’s to ensure people passing by aren’t opening the lid by accident. Ultimately, it conserves battery life, reducing the money you spend on replacement batteries.
By introducing a motion sensor, you never have to touch the trash can, other than changing the trash bag.
Q: Do All Motion Sensor Trash Cans Eliminate Odor?
No, not all trash cans with motion sensors neutralize odor. However, the lid does have a natural defense at trapping most odors. The lid is typically flushed to the edge of the trash can, which creates a natural seal.
Some models are obviously better at this than others, and some models have a deodorizer or activated carbon to eliminate smells.
Q: What Can I Do With My Old Trash Can?
Rather than trash your old trash can, consider giving it a new purpose. After it’s been thoroughly cleaned and disinfected, trash cans are capable of being the center of a myriad of projects.
It can be turned into a planter, storage, rain collection, compost bin, or even art. There’s no reason to add more plastic to landfills.
