The FWC and Waste Pro USA Inc. are signing a Memorandum of Understanding that will help reduce human-bear conflicts in northwest Florida. This agreement establishes the important role of the waste service company in making it easier for residents to secure their trash.

Black bears are attracted to unsecured trash found at Florida residences and businesses in areas near where bears are known to live. By properly securing trash, communities can reduce human-bear conflicts, including the risk of serious injuries to people. For this reason the FWC and Waste Pro are working together to make bear-resistant garbage containers more widely available in northwest Florida.

Waste Pro is a privately owned waste collection, recycling, processing and disposal company, operating in nine southeastern states. Serving more than 2 million residential and 40,000 commercial customers from over 75 operating locations, Waste Pro maintains more than 235 municipal contracts and franchises.

FWC Media Contact: Carli Segelson, 772-215-9459 or Carli.Segelson@MyFWC.com

Waste Pro Media Contact: Loyd Childree, 850-544-2226 or lchildree@wasteprousa.com