The most useful household gadget I acquired in a while is also the coolest.
I'd better explain how I found it. I was in my friendly local laboratory
supply dealer shopping for temperature-humidity monitors [1]. As I walked
past what looked like a regular waist-high kitchen-type trash container with
lid, the lid swung open, clamshell-style, with a decisive servomotor sound.
As I backed off, it presently closed again. The people in the shop (who
were enjoying my surprise) explained that it was made for lab work where
people may have their hands full and want to discard something, potentially
hazardous, without even a foot pedal. It was selling like hotcakes (they
had done brisk business at a trade show lately and it seemed that many
people were getting them for personal use). It's brushed stainless with a
black plastic top, with a little 2-lens motion sensor that picks up movement
within 6-8 inches (15-20 cm). Two sizes, the taller (12-gallon) takes
regular 13-gal. plastic trash-can liner bags.

Extra cool are press-on stickers supplied with the can, for identifying
contents. Here's one useful for some kitchen trash, refrigerator clean-out,
etc.: BIOHAZARD! Contents must be autoclaved before disposal.

BelArt "Scienceware" Touch-Free (tm) Automatic Waste Can model F13202-0030
(12-gal.) or -0020 (7.3-gal.) Also plastic models. www.belart.com.
12-gal. stainless about $129.95, others are cheaper.

-- Max


[1] Control Company model 4040 is a pocket-sized, certified, digital
temp-and-humidity meter for normal terrestrial temps. It can track min-max
over an extended interval, within its battery lifetime. (Useful for wine
storage, for example.)