Why We Love the SimpleHuman Rectangular Step Trash Can

Industrial engineer Lillian Moller Gilbreth, an early ergonomics pioneer, is widely credited with inventing the step trash can around the early 1900s.

But Simplehuman founder and CEO Frank Yang took the design to the next level 100 years later. An industrial design enthusiast with a passion for function over form, Yang decided to create a better trash can, since it’s one of the few things in the kitchen that everyone interacts with—whether you’re a kid toasting frozen Eggos or a gourmand prepping a Sunday roast.

The first can design that Yang worked on was slim with two leaves that opened from the center. But he developed signature traits that are now widely available on all of Simplehuman’s trash cans—a pedal that won’t break and a lid that shuts slowly and quietly.

Over the years, Yang’s design evolved into the Rectangular Step Can.

The beautiful, quiet trash can fits everywhere, its stainless steel exterior resists smudges, and that gap-free, soft-close lid keeps smells on lockdown.

We’ve used many Simplehuman trash cans in every Wirecutter office over the years, and even our active foot traffic hasn’t busted the step mechanism.

We love the removable inner bucket, which catches accidental spills and tucks the messy mouth of the garbage liner out of sight. This trash can also comes with a 10-year warranty, not that we’ve ever had to use it in the six years since we purchased our first one.

Deals on the Simplehuman Rectangular Step Can are fairly rare. They are usually on sale around Black Friday.

$100 Average street price
$80 Best price we’ve ever seen for the steel lid version

Although you can buy Simplehuman’s made-to-fit trash can liners, the rolls of cheap Kirkland bags from Costco work nearly as well.

This post is part of our 2020 “52 Things We Love” series, an ode to Wirecutter picks that have withstood the test of time. Read the entire series.