Whenever it was that our city joined the polychromatic bin revolution, we were given a choice of 4 different green (kitchen waste and garden trimmings) bins. We chose the medium-small one, mostly because it was the only model with a latch. Why did we want a latch? Because of Procyon lotor (raccoon, trash panda).
The etymology of "raccoon" is relevant to everything they do. According to Wikipedia:"It has also been identified as a reflex of a Proto-Algonquian root ahrah-koon-em, meaning "[the] one who rubs, scrubs and scratches with its hands".[8] "
Yes, they use their hands a lot. They're always poking and probing. They have super-soft hands too, which feel like mochi rice cakes. (The first time I had a mochi rice cake, I announced that it was as a soft as a raccoon's paw, and everyone stared at me, but life is complicated and some people are zoologists. which isn't a weird thing.)
When raccoons walk, it's as if the ground hurts their hands.
The bin latch: It's a very sturdy latch that takes two hands and a fair amount of hand-strength to open. You have to press down on the curved upper surface with one hand and tug hard at the free end to pop it open.
Had I known how completely unimpressed raccoons would be with it, I would have filmed the one wandering across our yard.
What he did:
1) Walked to bin and stood up, gripping the top front,
2) pulled it forward, and dodged as it fell,
3) rolled the bin onto its side to expose the latch,
4) with both hands grabbed the latch,
5) tugged.
The latch popped open and the lid swung wide. The entire process took about 3 seconds.
Cheers to you! I am enjoying touching with my paws, and eating with my jaws, the stiff yet spongy innards of this week-old artisanal French loaf you kindly set aside for me!
Carnivores, sort of. After the clean-up, raccoon is back, feeling for stray bread crumbs. Cat is just mad.