You bring a handful of peelings across the kitchen and the lid is already open

Both hands are full, the board is dripping, and the pedal bin you used to own needed a foot placed just so. Here you simply move the handful over the black lid. The eye in the centre picks it up in a fraction of a second, the flap rises, the peelings go in, and the lid settles again on its own once your hand has gone. Nothing on the bin has been touched, so nothing on the bin needs wiping afterwards.

The shell is brushed 430 stainless steel on a black foot trim, with the sensor and its mechanism built into an ABS lid module that lifts off completely. Under it sits the bucket and a black retaining ring that grips the bag. Two sizes share the same 26.1 by 19.8 cm footprint: 12 L at 35.5 cm tall and 1.35 kg, 15 L at 42.5 cm and 1.49 kg.

Key Benefits

• Opens on a wave. The maker gives an adjustable sensing range of 15 to 30 cm and a response of 0.3 seconds, so the lid is up before your hand reaches it.
• 430 stainless steel and ABS. The maker panel names both: a brushed steel shell and an ABS lid module. Fingerprints wipe off a brushed finish more forgivingly than off a polished one.
• Two heights, one footprint. 35.5 cm or 42.5 cm tall, both 26.1 by 19.8 cm on the floor, so the gap beside your cabinet decides which one fits.
• The lid module lifts off. The bucket and its retaining ring come out for emptying, and the ring holds the bag edge out of sight.
• Runs on two AA cells. No cable and no socket needed anywhere near it. The maker states 500 days from one pair of alkaline cells, tested in its own laboratory at twenty openings a day.

Best for: a kitchen where hands are usually full or wet, and narrow gaps beside a cabinet or a desk. Take the 15 L for a kitchen, the 12 L for a study or a bedroom.

Why It Works

Two numbers decide whether a sensor bin is pleasant to live with. The first is the range: 15 to 30 cm, and adjustable, which is what stops it opening every time someone walks past a narrow kitchen. The second is the reaction time, given as 0.3 seconds, short enough that you do not stand waiting with a dripping handful. The rest is construction. Because the electronics live in a removable lid module rather than in the body, the bucket is just a bucket, and the retaining ring means the bag is gripped rather than draped.

Quick Product Facts: brushed 430 stainless steel shell with an ABS lid module; infrared sensor opening; sensing range 15 to 30 cm, adjustable, as stated by the maker; response 0.3 seconds as stated by the maker; 12 L version 26.1 x 19.8 x 35.5 cm, 1.35 kg; 15 L version 26.1 x 19.8 x 42.5 cm, 1.49 kg; gross weight 2.1 kg; removable lid module, inner bucket and bag retaining ring; power two AA cells, not included; packing list is one trash can.

How It Fits Your Routine

In a kitchen it lives at the end of the run, where the board is. The point of it is the two seconds of cooking where your hands are full and there is no clean surface to put anything down on.

Bag changes are the other half. Lift the lid module off, take out the bucket, and the retaining ring lets you tuck the bag edge under so it does not show above the rim. Standard 12 to 15 L liners suit it.

Before it can do any of that it needs two AA batteries, so buy a pair with it. Wipe the steel with a dry cloth in the direction of the brushing, and keep the sensor window itself clear, because that is the part that decides whether it opens on time.

FAQ

Are batteries included? No. The maker panel lists two number 5 cells, which are AA, and the packing list is one trash can. Order a pair alongside, because the bin will not open without them.

How long do the batteries last? The maker states 500 days from a pair of alkaline cells, measured in its own laboratory at twenty openings a day, with a standby current under 35 microamps. That is their test, not ours.

Which size should I take? Both are 26.1 by 19.8 cm on the floor. The 12 L is 35.5 cm tall, the 15 L is 42.5 cm. If it goes under a worktop overhang or beside a desk, measure the height first.

Does it need a socket? No. It runs on the two AA cells and there is no mains cable and no USB port on it.