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Dozens of garbage fines issued in wake of bear attack

City of Coquitlam clamps down on garbage being left out over night
River Springs Bears
Patrols found garbage had been set out the night before garbage pick up day in River Springs neighbourhoods. Some 25 fines were issued by the City of Coquitlam.

Several homeowners in the area where a bear attack took place last Saturday have received $500 fines for setting their garbage out the night before pick-up.

The city of Coquitlam has confirmed that 25 tickets were handed out Sunday to residents in the Shaughnessy Street/River Springs neighbourhood, bringing the total ticket count this year to 90.

"We were shocked and disappointed to find that despite Saturday's incident, many residents in this area still had their garbage bins placed at the curb on Sunday night," said Stephanie Warriner, the city's manager of environmental services. "Given the seriousness of the situation, the amount of media coverage over the weekend and the proximity of these residences to the incident site, we cannot overlook this level of disregard."

According to city bylaws, garbage, green and recycling carts aren't supposed to be set out before 5:30 a.m. on garbage collection day. The rules have been in place for some time, said Verne Kucy, Coquitlam's manager of environmental projects, with the goal of reducing the amount of time roaming bears have access to human food in green waste bins.

"We try to minimize the human-bear conflict potential. If [bears] become acclimatized to human garbage, they often become a nuisance bear, which is also a dead bear," Kucy said.

Coquitlam has stepped up patrols in areas bears frequent and has raised awareness and given out more fines this year, sparking a lively exchange on Facebook and in Tri-City News letter pages (see page 13) as some residents oppose the idea of enforcing time limits on garbage set out.
But Kucy said it's important that homeowners stick to the rules and, where work schedules conflict, people are encouraged to ask their neighbours to help.

ANTI-GRAVITY LOCKS TRIED

The city is also trying out new trash bin gravity locks that keep animals out, opening only when bins are inverted during garbage collection. The Franzen Canada Gravity Locks have been placed on a number of carts in the Burke Mountain/Coast Meridian area, with the goal of seeing if they discourage bears and open properly when tipped by the automated system used by contractors Progressive Waste Solutions.

If the pilot project is successful and Coquitlam decides to follow the city of Toronto's lead and purchase those locks for bear-prone areas (In Toronto they are used to keep out raccoons), they might discourage bears from hanging out in neighbourhoods on garbage days.

In the meantime, city patrols will continue to visit residential area to monitor early set-out of green waste bins, Kucy said, adding, "The patrols are happening and this tragic incident in the park has brought more focus on it."

PARK GARBAGE

Meanwhile, the 10-year-old girl who was mauled by a female bear on Saturday is reportedly recovering in hospital.

As for Coquitlam's own park trash cans, a network of 400 bins, the city reports they are bear-proof or -resistant. Still, some homeowners use them to dump trash or leave bags of garbage nearby, according to parks manager Kathleen Reinheimer.

That was the case when two bags were left next to a bin where the attack happened and bears ransacked them looking for food. Sometimes, people break the locks to be able to dump their garbage, leaving the plastic bins open to bears, which then drag the trash into the trees.

Reinheimer said the plan is now to replace two of the plastic deep bins along the trail with metal bins in the hopes of discouraging dumpers from breaking into bins or leaving trash on the trail.