It was a HUGE deal here when they dropped our backyard garbage pick-up. It hasn’t been that long ago - maybe 15 years? They threatened to take it away for years, and then everyone would write letters to the editor about how would the elderly be able to get their cans to the street?!
We always took ours to the street. In the beginning we had a Rottweiler who stayed in the (fenced) backyard. She hated the garbagemen as it was. And then neither of us want people wandering in our back yards when we’re not home. But most people loved this option!
We’ve had raccoons get into ours from time to time. No bears. Sometimes they wander through the city, but not often enough to be a big problem with garbage.