Orange County will be rolling out new bear-resistant trash cans to residents who live in neighborhoods where bears are known to visit.
A grant from the state wildlife commission is making it possible for some Orange County residents to buy discounted bear-proof trash cans. Hardware stores sell them for around $200, but residents can buy them for $50.
Orange County Solid Waste Manager James Becker says the trash cans are one way of keeping bears out of residential neighborhoods.
“A lot of them are looking at garbage cans, but there are other things they look at as well,” said Becker. “Any kind of a food source, so it can be a barbeque grill or a bird feeder or anything like that.”
Residents must live in the unincorporated part of Orange County in the designated bear management area to receive the discount.
Central Florida is home to the state’s largest bear population.