LAKE COUNTY, Fla. — Some Lake County residents said the county's new trash cans could make their bear problem worse.
The county is switching its trash services, and that requires a new type of garbage can.
But residents told Channel 9’s Myrt Price that those new cans aren't bear-proof.
A resident showed Price a bear-proof garbage can that’s sturdy and has a lock on it.
The county-issued can doesn't have a lock, and Tracy Houston said it’s flimsy and she's hoping she won't have to use it.
Video from Houston shows a mom and three cubs trying to get into her trash, but the animals were unable to get inside her bear-proof trash can.
Houston said this video shows that those cans are the only ones that work in her Eustis neighborhood.
"My granddaughter, who is a year old, can lift the lid on that one, so a 500-pound bear is not going to have an issue," Houston said.
Bear-proof containers can be very expensive.
County officials say only about five to 10 percent of the more than 70,000 residents getting the new cans have issues with bears.
They were trying to have a uniform system, and getting all bear-proof cans didn't make sense.
Houston was hoping to be able to use her old trash can but was told no.
"I cannot use it because the garbage men are not getting out of the truck," Houston said.
With nothing to stop bears from getting her trash, she fears the new cans would attract even more bears to her home.
Houston said if she can’t use her old can, she would be willing to pay for a bear-proof county version.