Waste Pro offers bear proof dumpsters

Keeping garbage away from black bears has just gotten a little easier for some Waste Pro customers in Franklin County and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission hopes this initial effort will become the model for other communities throughout the state where humans share land with bears and other wildlife. The garbage company began offering wildlife-resistant containers to interested residents in Franklin County on June the 1st. The containers cost a little more, the company charges 5 dollars a month extra for people who use them. The FWC gave $6,000 to Waste Pro to allow the first 200 customers who sign up for the wildlife-resistant containers to have the cans serviced without the additional charge for the first six months. In 2008, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission received more than 2,700 calls concerning bears; 34 percent of those reported bears getting into garbage. In Franklin County, almost half of the calls reported bears in garbage. And the cans do more than keep bears away from your garbage, they also seem effective against feral cats and dogs, raccoons, foxes, opossums and other wildlife. For more information on wildlife-resistant containers and to find out what you can do to avoid bear conflicts, go to MyFWC.com/Bear. Franklin County homeowners interested in the wildlife-resistant containers offered by Waste Pro can call 850-670-8800 or visit their Web site at www.wasteprousa.com.