Do you have the hafele foot pedal?
is your spring broken?
http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg1019305829064.html

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg0611080029784.html

it was installed by the cabinet maker; i don't know what it is. -but i'm not supposed to have to pull it open, right?

Kate - I have no idea but I'm sorry that something that was suppose to make your life easier is actually making it harder. That stinks.

I have been wondering about the pullout trash drawer lately b/c that is what I design for my kitchen but I have had a foot-pedal-lid-opening, stand-alone garbage can for YEARS now and I am wonder if I am going to have a hard time adjusting. Not having to use hands to open the garbage is nice...

No. You are not supposed to have to pull it open. Definitely not.
My suspicion would be a broken spring that doesn't cause the action of the pushing out when you press the pedal. But that's based on no knowledge, just an arbitrary guess.
What does your cabinet maker say?

If yours is the Hafele opener, it will likely have bungee cords hooked onto a piece/thing that is screwed onto the floor of the cabinet (other end of bungee will be attached to/hooked onto the rails). Sometimes the bungee cord unhooks from that piece on the cab floor, which means the door won't pop open. Check to make sure this isn't the case. If it is, just loop the hook through one of the holes, and it should fix the problem.