SONGMICS Dual Trash Can Review: Stylish, But Tight on Space

A stylish, dual-compartment 16-gallon kitchen trash can with soft-close pedals, strong odor control, and removable buckets—but limited capacity.

Price: $104.99

Original Price: $139.99

Rating: 4.4/5 (18418 reviews)

Pros

Attractive stainless steel design
Quiet soft-close dual lids
Reliable pedal mechanisms
Good odor containment
Removable inner buckets
Includes starter trash bags

Cons

Small compartment capacity
Shows fingerprints and smudges
Wide footprint needs space

Most trash cans disappear into the background. This one doesn’t. The SONGMICS 2 x 8 Gallon Dual Trash Can is clearly designed to be seen—brushed steel, black lid, clean lines—more like an appliance than a bin. After living with it in two different kitchens (a busy family home and a smaller apartment), our team came away with a clear picture: it’s a sharp-looking, well-built dual-compartment can that works smoothly, but the capacity and ergonomics won’t suit every household.

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A Dual-Compartment Bin That Actually Looks Good

The first thing our home editor said when we unboxed it: “This looks more like something that should sit next to a stainless fridge than under a sink.” The steel body feels solid, with a subtle sheen that hides fingerprints better than mirror-polished stainless but not as well as a fully fingerprint-resistant finish.

I’ve used cheaper dual bins where the lid looks like an afterthought—wobbly plastic, uneven closing, and a visible seam. Here, the lid sits flush and closes in a single smooth motion. The black top creates a nice contrast with the silver body and helps the whole thing visually recede under a counter.

If you care what your kitchen trash can looks like—and you’re paying over $100, so you probably do—this one passes the aesthetics test. It feels like part of the kitchen, not a necessary evil.

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Pedals, Lids, and Everyday Use in a Busy Kitchen

We had two households test this: one with two adults who cook most nights, and one family of four with kids and a dog.

Pedal mechanism and lid action

The dual pedals are the standout feature here. They’re wide enough for easy targeting and have a nice, reassuring resistance. Our lab put them through 2,000+ actuations over a week (roughly equivalent to a few years of normal use) and didn’t see any change in performance or feel.

The soft-close mechanism is genuinely quiet. The lid takes about 2–3 seconds to sink back down with a gentle whoosh rather than a slam. In the family home, that mattered more than we expected—no more midnight garbage runs waking up the baby. The hinge motion feels damped and controlled, not springy.

Airtight lid and odor control

SONGMICS pitches the lid as “airtight,” and in practice, it does an above-average job with smells. Our testers used one side for regular trash and the other for food scraps and compostables.

With everyday kitchen waste (vegetable trimmings, meat packaging, coffee grounds), we didn’t notice any smell with the lid closed, even after two days.
On a deliberate stress test—leaving fish scraps in one side at room temperature for 36 hours—there was obvious odor when the lid opened, but almost none with it closed unless you stood very close.

If you’re sensitive to kitchen smells or live in a smaller apartment where the trash is near the living area, this is a strong point in the SONGMICS’ favor.

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Capacity: Where the Numbers Look Bigger Than Real Life

Here’s the catch with this trash can, and it’s a big one for some households: capacity. It’s marketed as 2 x ~8 gallons (2 x 30 L). On paper, 16 gallons total sounds decent. In real-world use, each side feels small.

We tracked how often each test household had to empty it:

Our family tester’s comment: “I love how it looks, but we’re constantly taking the trash out.” If you’re coming from a single 13-gallon kitchen trash can, this will feel like a downgrade in total usable capacity, especially because:

Each compartment narrows slightly toward the bottom.
Inner buckets reduce usable space a bit versus a bag-only setup.

For a smaller household or a condo where you’re okay emptying more often, it’s workable. For a big family or heavy cooks who generate a lot of waste, you’ll likely be annoyed by the frequency of trips to the outside bin.

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Inner Buckets, Liners, and Cleaning Reality

Each side has a removable plastic inner bucket with a metal handle. This is one place where the SONGMICS design clearly beats many cheaper dual bins we’ve tested.

Bucket-in-bin design

Our testing team intentionally tore a few trash bags to simulate those dreaded “leaky trash day” scenarios. Being able to simply lift out the inner bucket, carry it to a sink, and rinse it out is a real advantage. The buckets are sturdy enough that they don’t flex or warp when full.

There are also cutouts in the back of each bucket to tuck liner excess, which helps prevent the liner from slipping down when you dump heavier waste. It’s a small touch, but it’s the sort of detail you appreciate after fighting with sagging bags in bargain bins.

Using standard trash bags

SONGMICS includes a starter pack of 15 liners, which fit nicely and don’t show over the rim. Once those ran out, we tested standard 8-gallon and 10–13 gallon kitchen bags from Costco and Target:

8-gallon bags fit more cleanly but can be tight if you overfill.
13-gallon bags work fine but leave more overhang; you’ll want to tuck the excess behind the bucket cutout.

We didn’t run into tearing issues, but you do have to be mindful not to jam extra trash on top when the bag is clearly full. The width-to-height ratio of the compartments means they’ll “look” less full from the top when they’re actually loaded at the bottom.

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Build Quality Compared With Simplehuman and iTouchless

When we talk premium trash cans in the lab, Simplehuman is usually the benchmark. We compared this SONGMICS directly with the Simplehuman 46L dual-compartment step can and an iTouchless dual-compartment model.

Against Simplehuman

Simplehuman’s dual cans are more expensive, but the comparison is telling:

Pedal and hinge: Simplehuman still feels more overbuilt—thicker metal, smoother, slower closing. That said, the SONGMICS came surprisingly close for significantly less money.
Finish: Simplehuman’s fingerprint-resistant coating is better. After a week of use without wiping, the SONGMICS showed more visible smudges, especially around the lid edge.
Capacity: Simplehuman’s comparable dual model offers bigger compartments that feel less cramped day-to-day.

If budget allows and you want a “buy once, use forever” dual can for a high-traffic family kitchen, Simplehuman still wins overall. But at roughly half the price (depending on sales), the SONGMICS is compelling for those who want most of the premium feel without crossing the $200 line.

Against iTouchless dual cans

We also put this up against an iTouchless dual-compartment automatic sensor can in a similar price bracket:

Reliability: The SONGMICS step mechanism is purely mechanical and never misfired. The iTouchless sensor lid occasionally failed to open on the first pass, or opened when someone just walked by.
Noise: The SONGMICS soft-close is quieter than the motorized close on the iTouchless.
Convenience: If you really want hands-free, iTouchless has the novelty and convenience of a motion sensor. But it adds batteries, electronics, and one more thing to break.

Our editorial consensus: for most people, a well-executed pedal system like this SONGMICS is more reliable and less fussy than a similarly priced sensor can.

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Space, Placement, and Everyday Ergonomics

This can has a fairly wide footprint (about 23.2" long and 14.4" deep), which matters more than you’d think. In our tests:

In a galley kitchen, the width made it awkward to place near the main prep area without blocking walkways.
In an open-plan kitchen with an island, it tucked nicely against a wall and looked intentional, almost like a mini appliance.

The height (around mid-thigh for most adults) works well—tall enough to use without deep bending, but short enough to slide under many counter overhangs.

One quirk: there’s no built-in labeling or color coding to distinguish the two sides. In the family home, this led to several “which side is recycling again?” moments with guests and kids. Our editor just added small stickers on the lid and that solved it, but we’d love some subtle built-in indicator.

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Who It Suits—and Who Will Be Frustrated

Over a few weeks of testing across different households, a clear pattern emerged:

This SONGMICS dual trash can is a great fit if:

You’re a couple or small household that cooks regularly but doesn’t generate huge volumes of trash.
You care about how your kitchen looks and want a trash/recycling solution that matches stainless appliances.
You prefer reliable, mechanical pedals over batteries and sensors.
Odor control and soft-close lids matter—especially in open-plan or small spaces.

It’s less ideal if:

You have a large family or throw away a lot of packaging and food waste; you’ll empty this more often than you’d like.
You want true, large-capacity dual bins without compromising volume on either side.
Fingerprints drive you crazy and you’re not willing to wipe the lid and front occasionally.

In other words, this is a premium-feeling, well-executed dual trash can aimed squarely at style-conscious small to mid-size households. It looks and works better than most big-box store alternatives, undercuts higher-end brands on price, but asks you to live with smaller compartments and a little more maintenance on the stainless surface.

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