Bear-Proof Trash Can Locks & Covers
A different certification, for a different job: these are real, tested retrofit locks and covers you add to a cart you already own — not a full replacement can.
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A Different Program, Just as Real
Everywhere else on this site, "certified" means the IGBC's grizzly-bear testing program. These specific products are certified under a different, separately-administered program: the Wildlife Management Institute's Black Bear-Resistant Product Testing Program, run in partnership with the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (SEAFWA). It's just as real and just as live-bear-tested as IGBC certification — it's simply a separate list, focused on black bears rather than grizzlies, and it's the program that happens to cover most of the certified locks and retrofit covers we could find.
See our full breakdown of how the different certification programs relate to each other.
Trash Can Locks, Garbage Can Locks & Bear Locks: What's Actually Certified
People look for this under many names: a trash can lock, a garbage can lock, a garbage lock, a bear lock, a trash lock, locks for trash cans, or a trash can lock for animals. The only ones with a real certification are the WMI/SEAFWA-certified locks and covers below, each tested on a specific cart. Plain straps, ties, and bungee cords are not certified. Our guide to bear deterrent accessories covers what is tested and what is just marketing. If you would rather replace the can, see bear-proof trash cans.
Certified Locks & Covers
Every entry here has a real WMI/SEAFWA certification number, checked directly against their own published list — not a generic bungee cord marketed with the word "bear-resistant."
Certification applies only to this lock paired specifically with the Rehrig-Pacific cart it was tested on — not a general-purpose lock certification for any cart.
Certified specifically on Schaefer's 95-gallon cart with a metal-reinforced lid — Serio-us Lock's separately-certified Otto-cart version below isn't interchangeable with this one, since each certification covers a specific lock-and-cart pairing.
The Otto-cart counterpart to Serio-us Lock's Schaefer-cart certification above — same lock family, certified about three weeks later on a different cart brand. Check which cart brand you actually have before ordering either one.
A cover retrofit rather than a full container — check compatibility with your existing can before ordering.
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Need a full certified container instead?
Browse the complete IGBC-certified database.
Browse the Database