County invests in bear necessities

Seminole County to add $45,000 to buy bear-resistant trash cans.

more bear-resistant trash cans.

County officials said they expect to purchase about 1,400 additional bear-resistant cans. That number of cans will go a long way toward meeting the soaring demand for the bins from Seminole residents trying to keep the large black, furry animals from loitering in their neighborhoods.

“Currently, we have more requests for bear cans than we have available,” said Jeff Waters, division manager for Seminole’s solid waste management division.

The special trash cans have lock tops that make it impossible for a bear to break open. The beast then grows frustrated and wanders back into the woods or its native habitat.

Since mid-2017, Seminole has sold 3,147 of the special cans at reduced rates to residents and neighborhoods within the county’s Urban Bear Management Area, or the area west of Interstate 4.

Seminole’s announcement about the allocation comes as state Sen. Linda Stewart, D-Orlando, said Monday she will again introduce a bill in the upcoming Legislative session that will prohibit the hunting of bears whose cubs weigh less than 100 pounds. It also would ban the state from conducting controlled burns on public lands during February, the time of year when bears are in their dens.

The bill also would prohibit the harvesting of saw palmetto