A good trash can essentially disappears. I know this because my cheap stainless steel Amazon special definitely fails this test.
Sure, it does the job of separating trash and recyclables into two tiny chambers, but my dislike for it underscores every interaction we have, from trying to hide the edges of the garbage bag (impossible!) to finagling a full load from the fussy, narrow bin for disposal. And it’s hideous. Aesthetics for utilitarian items matter, especially in small kitchens like mine where there are very few places to hide a trash can.
Caraway, the company known for elevating everything from nonstick, non-toxic pans to kitchen storage, has built its brand on attention to design, and now that even applies to the place you throw your wadded-up napkins. Its new trash can and recycling bin flaunt a design you’ll want to show off, a fingerprint-resistant finish, and even drawers for sorting different types of recyclables. At $245 apiece, they’re more expensive than comparable, high-end offerings from Simplehuman or my favorite, Brabantia, but after a week with them, I am an expensive trash can evangelist – you really do get what you pay for, and these cans are worth the cost for me.
Built to show off
Both Caraway cans arrived in large boxes that I was able to wrangle up two flights of stairs with relative ease. I expected to wrestle with mountains of cardboard, but Caraway’s packaging was impressively simple and easy to open: each box had a pull tab at the base for ease, so the top lifted right off. Despite the minimal packaging, neither item was dinged up.
Like most of its offerings, Caraway makes the garbage can and recycling bin in an assortment of tasteful colors – I opted for Emerald, a forest-y teal green. It looks unambiguously like a garbage can, but an attractive one that blends well enough with my kitchen’s current vibe that I used it (when closed, of course) as an extension of the drop zone by my front door, setting my purse down on the closed lid without thinking twice. At 16.5in wide, the standard trash can is best suited for open-plan kitchens and would sit very nicely as an anchor to a kitchen island. For smaller kitchens, Caraway makes a slim 11in version as well.
Unlike SimpleHuman’s pricey proprietary bags, the Caraway takes the same generic 13-gallon garbage bags you can get on Amazon for $0.13 apiece. I’m not one to be irked by a visible liner, but the process of putting a new bag into my old garbage can was always a bit of a struggle. Caraway makes it easier with a plastic ring that holds the garbage bag in place and also keeps the soft-close lid open when you’re changing the bag, so you don’t have to hold the foot pedal down while wrestling with your refuse.
The real revelation for me was the recycling bin, which looks a little bit like a filing cabinet. Two drawers pull all the way out so that you can empty the thing easily, and two “quick-toss” hatches on the top allow easy access to the top drawer. Each drawer is also 12in tall, which means that taller boxes and wine bottles can fit without any scrunching or compacting. I tossed an old plastic pitcher that had previously housed past-its-prime homemade vegetable stock into the plastics section, and it left me ample room to recycle the seemingly endless supply of cat food and seltzer cans that my household produces.
How well does it do its job?
Caraway says that the garbage can’s foot pedal is tested for up to 250,000 steps and that the exterior is fingerprint-resistant. Pressing the foot pedal is satisfying and the lid springs open with some pep and closes quietly, without much fuss. While I did not have the energy or time to try this 250,000 times, I did test fingerprint resistance by pressing my sweaty palm on to the top and sides of the trash can and second, by smearing the remnants of a small Laughing Cow cheese on the lid. My fingerprints faded a bit, but I did need to wipe the surface down with a paper towel. The remnants of my cheese snack, on the other hand, required a spray of Fabuloso and a brisk scrub to look good as new. My previous trash can retained streaks on the lid that I could never erase, and the lid closed too slowly at times, so this felt like a vast improvement.
A kitchen garbage bin also needs to contain food stink. Though I would normally compost most kitchen scraps, I wanted to see how disgusting I could be, so I piled the Caraway with coffee grounds, outdated green onions, an assortment of moldy fruit, onion and garlic peelings, and used kitty litter. Because the garbage can is located within sniffing distance of my living room, it’s crucial that the stink is effectively contained. When closed, there was no stink at all, which is more than I can say for my old trash can. Of course, when I opened it to toss more stuff away, the soft-close lid wafted a puff of stink my way – but that’s to be expected.
Even the recycling bin contains odors. My old bin inevitably smelled of cat food from all the aforementioned tins, but Caraway’s felt pretty airtight – no stench detected from the closed bin.
Will it last?
What’s the point of a nice-looking trash can if it’s not going to stay that way forever? My old trash can was flimsy enough that a well-placed kick would leave an irreparable dent, so I wanted to test the strength of Caraway’s offerings to see how it would hold up.
I unboxed the recycling bin in the vestibule of my apartment and then carried it not that carefully up my stairs, making sure to gently bang the balusters on the way up – nary a dent! For the trash can, I did my worst, and rammed my vacuum cleaner into its side. I also banged the inside of the trash can every time I emptied the food catcher in my kitchen sink or dumped out the coffee grounds from my moka pot. No dent! I wouldn’t go so far as to say this is indestructible, but it should hold up to the routine bumps and clatter of standard kitchen life.
My previous trash can was so fiddly and annoying to deal with that I admit I never cleaned its interior, but Caraway makes it much easier. Both the recycling and trash bins are plastic and easily removable, so you can pull them out and blast them with a hose in the yard, or rinse them in a bathtub if you don’t have the luxury of outdoor space.
Trash as art
If you have a trash can and recycling bin system that works for you already, then you don’t need to get another. But if you’re frustrated with expensive bags, stink escaping into your home, or even just want a beautiful vessel for an ugly fact of life, Caraway’s system is – dare I say – better than a lot of options out there. Something about a trash can that is easy to use and not hideous to look at has created a sense of calm in my home. Yes, a good trash can disappears – but a great one brings a frictionless experience, and a little joy to life’s most mundane tasks.
Other pieces you might enjoy from the Filter, the Guardian’s guide to buying fewer, better things:
