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.
-- 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.