The Town of Golden will be rolling out the third, and final, batch of bear-resistant garbage bins July 17 and 18 in remaining areas of the community.
The Town has been working to replace all green garbage bins in Golden with a form of lockable bin that is bear resistant, a tactic now used by the majority of communities in North America that experience ongoing bear incursions in urban areas.
"In B.C., garbage is still the number one attractant when it comes to human-wildlife conflicts. The most important way to minimize this is to keep garbage away from bears and other wildlife," said Johanne Lamoureux, Golden WildSafeBC Community Coordinator. "We know the bins and efforts of our community are working here in Golden. Since deploying the first round of bear-resistant bins in 2017, we have seen a decrease in calls regarding black bear incidents in town."
According to a 2018 Golden WildSafeBC report, from January to October 2018 there were only 50 reports regarding black bears compared to an average of 142 calls per year from 2014-2017, over the same time frame.
Together with VP Waste Ltd., the Town has outfitted over 800 homes with bear-resistant bins since 2017. Starting July 17, the final deployment will take place in the following areas:
- Canyon Ridge;
- Gareb Rd.;
- 5 Ave. Estates;
- 10 Ave. S to 6 Ave. S, between 8 St. S and 14 St. S; and
- Selkirk Hill
To view the full map, click the image.
On the July 17 or 18 pickup days, residents are asked to place their existing green bins at the curb for regular pick up. The bin will be emptied and replaced with a new bear-resistant bin. An instruction sheet outlining the rules and expectations for residents in using these bins will be attached. The Conservation Officer Service and bylaw enforcement personnel will be enforcing and issuing fines to residents not using the bins properly.
"We would like to thank all of the residents currently using their bear-resistant bins properly. We are excited to finish rolling out the program to the rest of Golden," said Jon Wilsgard, Chief Administrative Officer. "The Town of Golden is committed to reducing human-wildlife conflict, and we are pleased to see the community embrace the program and how well it's been working."
For over 10 years the Town of Golden has invested in an annual WildSafeBC (formerly Bear Aware) seasonal coordinator to educate the community; implemented a more regimented and timed waste collection service; ensured zero accessibility by bears to public garbage receptacles; and steadily removed fruit trees from public lands.
The Town continues to work with the Golden WildSafeBC Community Coordinator to educate the community and encourage residents to take steps to ensure bears do not have access to residential garbage.
For information, including collection schedules and guidelines for using bear-resistant bins, visit golden.ca/curbsidecollection.
For information or assistance with the new bear-resistant bin, please contact the Golden WildSafeBC Community Coordinator at 250-290-1222/250-344-4855 or the Town of Golden at 250-344-2271.
To stay up-to-date with Golden WildSafeBC and learn how to keep wildlife wild and communities' safe, follow them at Facebook.com/WildSafeBCGolden
To report wildlife-human interactions where public safety may be at risk, please contact the Report All Poachers and Polluters (RAPP) hotline at 1-877-952-7277.