Seminole County neighborhood provided with free bear-proof trashcans

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — Thanks to funds from a federal program and the U.S. Humane Society, a Seminole County neighborhood was provided with free bear-proof trash cans this week.

The cans, which can be locked to keep out bears, usually cost about $180 each.

The Humane Society partnered with Wekiva Wild and Scenic to provide the Robinhood subdivision with the cans.

Matt Werner, who lives in the neighborhood off Markham Woods Road, purchased his own bear-proof trash can about two years ago and can attest to their effectiveness.

“We started not seeing bears anymore,” he said. “It was like they suddenly disappeared. Instead of seeing one every day, now we see one once every month.”

About two dozen of Werner’s neighbors received the trash cans on Friday.

Along with keeping nuisance bears at bay, the cans are also an important safety measure in an area frequented by the animals, Werner said.

“If the bears aren’t coming for food, they’re not going to be attacking people because they’re just not going to be in the area,” he said.

Residents have to pay an annual $60 fee to Waste Pro because the cans have to be emptied by hand instead of using an automated system.

When negotiating the next contract with trash haulers, Seminole County commissioners hope to have the fee for picking up bear-proof trash cans removed.

Thanks to $200,000 from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Seminole County government may soon put more of the bear-proof trash cans on the curb.

They wouldn’t be free, but they would cost residents a fraction of the full cost, Seminole County Commissioner Lee Constantine said.

“Neighborhoods in the bear area, mostly west of I-4, will be able to apply, and if a whole neighborhood does it they will get 75 percent off the cost of the can,” he said.

Cox Media Group