Baltimore Residents Get New Trash Cans To Eliminate Rat Problems

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- New trash cans are on the way for city residents. But these aren't just any type of trash bins---they keep the rats out. The city tested the cans in some neighborhoods and they work.

Gigi Barnett explains how you can get yours.

It's an age-old problem in Baltimore: trash and rats. The city says the solution is a new 65-gallon trash bin for every household. The big attached lid design keeps trash in and rats out.

"That's all very important," said Jeffrey Raymond, DPW. "We keep hearing concerns about trash and rodents."

So much so that the city tested at least 9,000 of the new bins in two neighborhoods back in 2014. Calls for rat extermination in those communities dropped by 75%.

The price tag for the city is nearly $9 million.

Now it's time to roll out the program to the rest of Baltimore's residents. For homeowners, it won't cost a thing and there's no need to pick it up.

"The cans can be brought. We'll come to you," Raymond said.

Another perk of the program: the new bins have a bar on them that allows the trash truck to pick them up. That means fewer injuries to trash collectors. The first of the new trash cans will go out next month.

Washington D.C. launched a trash can program 20 years ago to reduce grime and rats in the nation's capital and San Francisco and Charlotte also provide residents with large trash bins.

For more information on how to pick-up a trash can CLICK HERE.