The Townew Trash Can Turned My Apartment Into a Smart Home | Architectural Digest

Whenever the warm weather finally rolls back around, I immediately get the urge to start cleaning and organizing my apartment. Because I live in a very tiny New York City apartment, it’s crucial that my space is in tip-top shape so I can maximize every square inch. But I find it can be overwhelming to get through the long list of spaces to sanitize, cabinets to declutter, and closets to clean out.

That’s why I began searching for smart home devices that would check items off my spring cleaning list without me having to lift a finger. After doing some research, I stumbled upon the Townew T1 Automatic Trash Can, which the brand’s website describes as the solution for reducing the number of times you’ll have to take out your trash to once a month, according to the product description. I was intrigued.

The details

Townew specializes in automatic trash cans—it’s the brand’s bread and butter. They have three models of automatic trash cans available: The T Air Lite, the T3 Slim, and the T1. Each model differs in size. I chose the T1 because it landed in the middle in terms of price.

The T1 model costs $124.95, and comes with the trash can and two refill rings that are filled with the trash bags. And though this price is a bit on the steep side, this trash can definitely feels like a piece of technology rather than an ordinary plastic bin. The main two features are the automatic sensor, which opens the trash can when it senses motion, and the self-sealing and self-changing technology. It also has an overload feature that detects when the trash bag is full and seals it automatically.

TOWNEW T1 Self-Sealing and Self-Changing 4 Gallon Trash Can

The setup

Getting this high-tech trash can going requires a charge. Once it was all powered up, I pushed the small button on the front side and popped the trash bag ring into place. That was the only step to set it up and it took less than five minutes, which was surprising given how tech-y the trash can feels.

How it works

The automatic sensor on the trash can is truly impressive. Because of its vicinity to my desk (which is where I spend most of my day), it senses when I shift positions in my chair or if I push my chair back to stand up. I’ve honestly forgotten a few times that it’s automatic, so I have been surprised when the lid opens up. There’s also a glowing blue light on the inside, which adds to the not-your-ordinary-trash-can feel. I’ve enjoyed having it next to my desk for those mid-workday snack moments. Instead of having to get up (I’m not that lazy I swear!), I can just motion to the trash can and throw away whatever I’ve chosen to munch on.

The sealing and self-changing features are pretty quiet, and I’ve barely noticed when the trash can swaps out the trash bags. I’ve had the trash can for a little over a month and haven’t had to take the bags out of the actual trash can yet and there aren’t any unpleasant odors coming from inside.