I really wanted to like this trash can. It worked great for the first few months. We got it to keep our trash hound out of trouble, and I liked that I didn't have to open the lid with my hands. However, we haven't had it that long and now the mechanism that connects the lid to the step just isn't working. Now we do have to lift the lid manually. It's a good size, nice and sturdy, but the whole reason we bought it now doesn't work, and that's a bummer.