The best EKO trash cans

Buy the EKO Madison 13.2 Gallon Step Trash Can. It is the model that carries EKO's whole argument - a pedal mechanism the maker states is tested past 200,000 steps, a soft-close lid, a raised inner bucket, and ordinary 13-gallon bags - for substantially less than a premium brand charges for the same list. If you want hands-free, the EKO Mirage-T is the same thinking with a sensor instead of a pedal, and the Hudson 75L is the one to buy if 13 gallons has stopped being enough.

#	Product	Best for	Price
01	EKO Madison 13.2 Gallon Step Trash CanThe stainless step can that competes on the one spec that actually predicts lifespan — pedal cycles — without the premium-brand markup.	Best budget stainless	$89.99 · View on Amazon Price as of October 17, 2026.  #ad How we make money
02	EKO Mirage-T 50L Motion Sensor Trash CanA plain rectangular sensor can on standard 13-gallon bags, with no app, no voice control and nothing proprietary.	Best simple sensor can	$89.99 · View on Amazon Price as of October 17, 2026.  #ad How we make money
03	EKO Deluxe Mirage-T 50L Motion Sensor CanThe Mirage-T in a matte fingerprint-resistant finish, which is the version to buy if the can sits in the open.	Best matte finish	$109.99 · View on Amazon Price as of October 17, 2026.  #ad How we make money
04	EKO Hudson 75L / 20 Gallon Step Trash CanA 20-gallon stainless step can with a genuinely damped lid and a rear compartment that holds the bag roll — the feature cans at this size almost always drop.	Best soft-close at this size	$109.99 · View on Amazon Price as of October 17, 2026.  #ad How we make money

One naming note before you shop, because it causes real confusion: EKO's cans appear at some retailers under the Qualiazero name, and the Hudson 75L is one of them. Same can, same specification, different label on the listing. If the dimensions and the pedal rating match, you have found the right product.

Most mid-market can brands sell on finish. EKO sells on a spec sheet, and it is worth understanding which numbers on that sheet mean something.

• A published pedal rating. EKO states its step mechanisms are tested past 200,000 presses. That figure matters because the pedal linkage is what fails on a can - not the body, not the lid. simplehuman publishes a rating too; most brands at this price publish nothing at all, which is itself informative.
• Standard bags, every time. Nothing in the EKO line needs a coded liner. A 13-gallon supermarket bag fits the 50-liter cans and a 20-gallon bag fits the Hudson. Over five years that is a real difference in running cost against a brand that sells its own liners.
• Damped lids as standard, not as an upsell. Both 50-liter sensor cans and both step cans close on a damper rather than a spring. In an open-plan kitchen that is the feature you notice most often.
• Fingerprint-resistant finishes, including matte. The matte versions hide the oily shadow that collects around a pedal better than brushed steel does, which is why the Deluxe Mirage-T exists as a separate model.

And the thing EKO does not sell on: support. Is simplehuman worth it? argues the premium case in full, and the honest summary is that the premium brands win on warranty length and spare parts, not on the mechanism you use every day.

We have not lab-tested these cans. What we did was establish which models EKO currently sells in the US, confirm each against a live manufacturer or retailer listing, and compare them on the five things that decide whether a can is still in service in three years: the pedal or sensor mechanism and any published cycle rating, whether the lid is damped, whether the liner is a size you already buy, the real footprint, and what happens when a part breaks. Manufacturer figures are labelled as manufacturer figures throughout. Methodology, disclosure.

Ranking logic in a line each. The Madison is first because a damped stainless step can on standard bags with a published pedal rating is the most can-for-the-money in this line. The Mirage-T is second because it does hands-free without adding anything that can go wrong. The Deluxe is third - mechanically identical to the Mirage-T, bought for the matte finish. The Hudson is fourth only because 20 gallons is a minority need, and it is the one we would pick first for a family of five.

EKO is unusual in offering effectively the same can in both mechanisms at the same capacity, which makes it a clean way to settle the step-versus-sensor question without changing brand.

The pedal is the better buy for most kitchens and the sensor is the better buy in two specific situations: a cook constantly handling raw food, and a household where someone cannot easily operate a pedal. Step can vs touchless trash can sets out the trade properly, including the battery cost nobody mentions at the till.

Three cases, and they are all about what happens after the sale rather than about the can itself.

• You intend to keep one can for ten years. EKO's published warranty and spare-parts support are thinner than Brabantia's ten-year guarantee or simplehuman's parts catalogue. The mechanism may well outlive both; the cover does not.
• You need a lid an animal cannot open. Nothing in this line latches. The best dog-proof trash cans covers what does.
• You want filtered air rather than a closed lid. EKO does not build a carbon cartridge into these cans. Trash can carbon filters lists the cans that take one, and the best trash cans for odor control ranks the category on that basis.

If you are buying one EKO can, these are the two worth the money: the 13-gallon step can for a normal kitchen, and the Hudson if yours is full before dinner is cleared.

Best budget stainless

EKO Madison 13.2 Gallon Step Trash Can

The stainless step can that competes on the one spec that actually predicts lifespan — pedal cycles — without the premium-brand markup.

$89.99 · View on Amazon

Price as of October 17, 2026.  #ad How we make money

Best soft-close at this size

EKO Hudson 75L / 20 Gallon Step Trash Can

A 20-gallon stainless step can with a genuinely damped lid and a rear compartment that holds the bag roll — the feature cans at this size almost always drop.

$109.99 · View on Amazon

Price as of October 17, 2026.  #ad How we make money

• Do not stand on the pedal. A 200,000-step rating is a rating for steps, not for a loaded foot held down while you scrape a plate. That is what bends a linkage rod.
• Wipe the lid rim, not just the bucket. The film that actually smells collects on the underside of the lid. How to clean a trash can has the order of operations.
• Buy the bag that matches the can, not the cupboard. The Hudson needs 20-gallon liners; a 13-gallon bag will not reach. 13 vs 20 gallon trash cans does that arithmetic.
• On the sensor models, change batteries before they die. A failing set makes a sensor behave erratically long before it stops altogether. Touchless trash can batteries and power covers what to buy.