The Best Kitchen Trash Cans (2025), Tested and Reviewed

Unless you’re one of those zero-waste people who keeps all their waste inside a small mason jar, there’s a good chance that you have one or several garbage bins around the house—and the kitchen trash can is perhaps the most essential.

And sure, a household item that basically serves as purgatory for food scraps, crumpled-up paper towels, unrecyclable packaging, and whatever else you need to inevitably transport to the garbage can in the garage doesn’t seem like the most exciting purchase you will make for the home. But a high-quality trash can—especially if you have a small kitchen where that trash can can’t hide—is a good investment that will last you a long time.

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Below you’ll find out top pick for the best kitchen trash can, as well as other models we tested.

The best kitchen trash can overall: Kohler 13-Gallon Step Can

What we love: While it was a very close race for best trash can, when all the testing was done we preferred the Kohler step-on model. The can is chic and unobtrusive and has a handsome, brushed stainless-steel finish (it comes in seven other finishes, including black stainless and options with copper accents). The design quality is evident in the details—its lid opens and closes softly no matter how hard you step on the pedal, and the rim locks into place on its own when you lift it up, making it easy to change out the bag.

The Kohler’s removable inner bucket has a small hole in the back that allows you to twist and tuck the bag tightly inside and secure it with minimal unsightly overhang. It’s a simple design feature that many trash cans inexplicably lack.

Importantly, this is an attractive stainless-steel step trash can (and at 13 gallons you will probably see it). The Kohler also feels built to last, and it has stood up to daily use for over five years now, without malfunction or noticeable wear.

What we’d leave: There have been some reports that the outer rim of the bin will get stuck to the top lid and then fall down with a loud bang. We noticed this a couple times when something sticky was on the rim. Keeping the trash can clean will keep this from happening.

Another great kitchen trash can: Simplehuman 50-Liter Rectangular Step Trash Can

What we love: This Simplehuman trash can came in a close second. It has most of the same features we love about the Kohler: It is solidly built and good-looking, and it opens and closes silently, contains odors to keep your kitchen from getting too smelly, and, despite the fact that Simplehuman produces its own line of trash bags, works fine with any grocery store bag you want to use. Simplehuman’s cans also come in several additional sizes if you need something bigger or smaller for your space.

What we’d leave: The Simplehuman bin fell short on a couple small details. You need to flick a little red switch to hold the lid up when changing the bag (the Kohler just locks nicely into place when you lift it), and the stainless-steel exterior, despite being labeled “fingerprint-resistant,” is more prone to smudges and streaks.

Why we don’t recommend cheap trash cans

After testing trash cans across a range of price points, we ultimately came to the conclusion that spending a little more on a nicer kitchen trash can is worth it in the long run. This is especially true if you have spacial limitations that require you to keep your trash can out on display. Plastic trash cans tend to have flimsy builds, do a poor job at containing odors, and are lousy at keeping trash bags secure. This is something you’ll use constantly, every single day and you will notice the problems with a subpar can pretty quickly.

How we tested trash cans

We started by investigating the overall build of the trash cans, taking note of their sturdiness and build quality. We stepped on the foot pedals repeatedly to see if they how they tolerated excessive use.