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In this guide
simplehuman's 40-liter slim plastic step can is a narrow, foot-operated kitchen bin: 10.1 inches wide, 24.9 inches tall, 2.8 kg of black plastic with a steel pedal and a locking lid. On 2026-09-23 the Amazon listing read $39.98 for the black CW1361, marked In Stock, with the seller being Amazon.com itself, against a $45.00 list price.
The purchase turns on two facts rather than design romance. simplehuman's own store no longer lists this model; its current step cans there include the 45L slim liner-rim at $110 and a 45L liner-pocket at $150. And the five-year warranty in the listing's details applies only through authorized sellers — which makes the seller line on the offer part of what you buy.
Our verdict
Buy the black 40L slim at $39.98 direct from Amazon.com when the kitchen gap clears 10.1 inches; skip it from third-party marketplace sellers, which the five-year warranty excludes by name.
- A good fit for
- Households with a cabinet-side gap barely wider than ten inches who want a locking, pedal-operated kitchen can with a five-year warranty for under $40.
- We would skip it if
- Families emptying a 13-gallon bag every other day, buyers who actually want simplehuman's $110 steel cans, and anyone shopping third-party marketplace sellers — the warranty excludes those.
Reasons to consider it
- 10.1-inch width fits the cabinet-side gap a standard kitchen can cannot
- Five-year warranty, and the maker lists this model's replacement lid with slide lock (PD0278) at $20
- Costs about a third of the $110 45L slim liner-rim, the entry step can in simplehuman's own store
The compromises
- The slow-close lid and strong-pedal claims are listing language with no test figures published behind them
- 10.6 gallons fills faster than the standard 13-gallon tall kitchen size, so larger households empty it more often
- Warranty coverage follows the seller: third-party marketplace listings of the same can carry none
What we have not verified: Pedal and hinge durability carry no published rating for this model — the 150,000-step figure attached to some simplehuman cans belongs to other models and does not transfer. The slow-close mechanism was not observed in operation, and color availability (grey showed no featured offer at check, the newer colorways none at all) shifts week to week.
The things in this guide
A closer look at the products, who they may suit, and what to check before buying.
Slim Plastic Step Can · 40L
$39.98 (2026-09-23, black CW1361, sold directly by Amazon.com) buys a 10.1-inch-wide, 40-liter pedal can with a slide-lock lid, a five-year warranty, and a $20 replacement lid in the maker's parts list — about a third of the $110 entry step can in simplehuman's own store.
Before you buy: The slow-close and strong-pedal claims are listing language without published figures; capacity runs under the 13-gallon kitchen norm; and the warranty follows the seller, so third-party marketplace listings are excluded.
Price checked September 23, 2026. Retailer prices can change.Where $39.98 sits in the lineup
Forty dollars is discount-store money for a pedal can, and context is the argument. simplehuman's own store no longer sells this model: on 2026-09-23 its step-can line there included the 45L slim liner-rim at $110 and a 45L rectangular liner-pocket at $150. The plastic 40L persists in the retail channel at $39.98, keeping the brand's pedal, hinge, and lid hardware at about a third of the $110 store entry.
What the lower price removes is mostly material: plastic instead of brushed steel, a 40-liter body instead of 45, and no liner rim or liner pocket to manage the bag edge. What it keeps is that mechanism, under a five-year warranty — half the ten years simplehuman gives the $110 steel slim, which it also rates for 150,000 pedal steps.
Measure the gap, not the appliance
The listing's dimensions — 18.6 inches deep, 10.1 wide, 24.9 tall — describe a can built for the slot beside a cabinet or refrigerator. The direction of the check matters: a gap advertised as ten inches is already too narrow, since the can itself measures 10.1 inches across, and the lid hinges upward, so a slot under a counter overhang also needs headroom above the 24.9-inch body. Measure the actual slot before ordering.
At 40 liters, or 10.6 gallons as the listing converts it, capacity sits a step below the 13-gallon tall kitchen bag, the standard US kitchen size. A household that fills a tall kitchen bag every few days will empty this one a little more often. For one or two people that cadence is unremarkable; for a family cooking daily it is the strongest argument for a wider bin.
What the lid claims rest on
Amazon's listing advertises a slow-close lid, a strong steel pedal, and a secure slide lock, and the lock at least has a second witness: simplehuman's support page lists this model's replacement lid under the name Black Plastic Slim Lid with Slide Lock. The slow-close and pedal claims are listing language, though, and neither the listing nor the support page publishes a pedal cycle rating.
If the hardware behaves as described, the lock is the everyday feature: it keeps the lid shut against a dog's nose or a toddler, and a slow hinge spares the kitchen the midnight bang of a spring lid. The limit of the evidence is durability: simplehuman rates its steel slim at 150,000 steps, and this model carries no such figure.
A five-year warranty with a seller condition
simplehuman's warranty page runs coverage from the purchase or delivery date, remedies defects with free parts or replacement, and explicitly excludes unauthorized retailers — naming third-party sellers on Amazon Marketplaces among them. Commercial use shortens coverage to one year, and a dated proof of purchase may be required. The consequence is concrete: the offer where Amazon.com is the seller carries the warranty; a marketplace listing at the same price does not.
Repair support is unusually concrete for a $40 bin. The model's support page lists the replacement lid with slide lock, part PD0278, at $20, though on September 23 the part showed only a Notify Me button rather than an order option, and gives plastic-can cleaning guidance: a diluted household-bleach solution for odor, with a baking-soda solution as the gentler option.
Colors are the same can; availability is not
Black, white, and grey are color variants of one generation, not different hardware. On 2026-09-23 the white matched the black $39.98 through the same Amazon-direct channel, while the grey showed as currently unavailable with no featured offer. The price in this article therefore belongs to black and white; treat any other color's offer as its own check.
The listing's swatch row also carries newer colorways — a cream among them — which are new colors of the same can rather than a new generation. None had an offer attached at check time, so nothing further is claimed about them here.
When this can is the wrong answer
Skip it when the gap is the problem and loses: a slot that cannot take the can's 10.1 inches plus a little room to slide it out for bag changes rules it out. Skip it when the kitchen fills a 13-gallon bag within two days — the 10.6-gallon body turns bag changes into a near-daily chore, and a standard-width can suits that kitchen better.
And plastic makes no sense when the real want is simplehuman's steel: the 45L slim liner-rim lists at $110 on the maker's store, and buying plastic while wanting steel usually ends with owning two cans. Finally, skip any copy of this model from a third-party marketplace seller — the warranty terms exclude those sellers by name, and the five-year coverage is half of what justifies the price.
How we put this together
Built from the product pages and listings below, without test scores or results we have not measured. Specifications and prices change, so check the original page for the exact model, current price, delivery, and returns.
- Amazon: simplehuman 40L slim step can listing, black (ASIN B004L9L42O) (opens in a new tab)
- Amazon: simplehuman 40L slim step can listing, white (ASIN B004L9L3IO) (opens in a new tab)
- simplehuman: slim plastic step can 40L product support (opens in a new tab)
- simplehuman: warranty terms (opens in a new tab)
- simplehuman: 45L slim step can with liner rim product page (opens in a new tab)
- simplehuman: 45L rectangular step can with liner pocket product page (opens in a new tab)
- simplehuman: trash can collection (opens in a new tab)
