The best stainless steel trash cans under $100

EKO states the pedal mechanism is tested past 200,000 steps, a higher published figure than several cans costing more. You also get a soft-close lid and a raised inner bucket with handles, so bag changes do not involve reaching down into the body of the can. It takes standard 13-gallon bags.

Two things separate this from a generic stainless step can at the same size. The first is the rear bag compartment — a slot molded into the back of the body that holds a roll of liners, so the replacement bag is at the can instead of under the sink. The second is the stay-open lid, which holds the lid up while you change the bag instead of dropping it on your wrist. Glad puts its Clorox odor protection on the lid and the lid frame, the two surfaces that collect the film that actually smells, and the stainless bag rings grip an ordinary 13-gallon liner so the bag does not slide into the can.

A soft-close lid is the feature that decides whether a can is tolerable in an open-plan kitchen, and it is normally the first thing budget cans drop. This keeps it, adds a smudge-resistant finish so the fingerprints are less obvious, and uses a removable inner bucket so a leaked bag does not sit against the steel. It takes standard 13-gallon liners.

The reason most households stay on 13 gallons is not that 13 is enough — it is that 20-gallon cans are usually commercial-looking drums. This is a 20-gallon body on a footprint Glad lists at about 16 by 16 inches, so it takes a cabinet-end or pantry-wall slot the way a tall 13-gallon can does, and finds the extra volume in height. The lid is damped rather than free-falling, the Clorox odor protection sits on the lid, and a bag roll holder keeps the next liner at the can. It takes 20-gallon liners, which is the part people forget to budget for.

Fourteen inches by fourteen inches by 25.3 inches tall is the published figure, and it is the reason to choose this over the 30-liter: it finds its volume in height rather than width, so it slots into a 15-inch gap beside a fridge or at the end of a run of cabinets. The black fingerprint-resistant finish is the other argument - black metal hides marks that brushed stainless advertises, which matters on a can at hand height.

Soft-close is the feature that decides whether a can is tolerable in a room you sit in, and it is normally the first thing a budget can drops. This keeps it, adds the smudge-resistant satin nickel finish so fingerprints are less obvious, and uses a removable inner bucket so a leaked bag sits in plastic rather than against the steel. At 30 liters it takes an ordinary 8-gallon drawstring bag, which means no proprietary liner and no code letter to look up.