Too many Port Moody residents aren’t getting the message to be “bear aware” about their garbage.
So a blitz to enforce the city’s garbage bylaws about when and how trash can be put at the curb might get their attention, said Mayor Mike Clay.
On Sunday night, bylaw officers issued 139 fines to residents who put out their trash too soon or improperly for Monday collection.
Port Moody bylaws require residents put out their garbage between 5:30 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. on their scheduled collection day. Bins must also be secured with a special bear-proof lock that must be unlocked by 7:30 a.m. and relocked within 12 hours of the bin being emptied.
Another 75 tickets were written up for garbage bylaw infractions on Monday night. That compares to the two or three fines normally issued in a day, Clay said.
But the extra enforcement is necessary, especially as bears seek out easy food sources so they can fatten up for their winter hibernation ahead, he said.
Kurt Frei, an environmental technician for the city, said bears are voracious feeders in the fall, requiring more than 20,000 calories a day. And they’ll find that food anywhere and any way they can.
“Bears navigate through their nose, which is more powerful than a bloodhound’s,” Frei said. “They also have excellent long-term memory. They remember where and when food is found, and this knowledge is passed from mother to cub.”
Frei said the proper management of garbage — by rinsing out trash carts with water and vinegar to eliminate odours, storing them inside and freezing food waste between collection days — reduces the opportunities for bears and humans to interact.
Those interactions usually don’t end well — especially for the bear.
“This seems like the only way to have people take it seriously as a safety issue,” Clay said, “both for the safety of the wildlife and the safety of the residents with the animals coming into and getting used to the residential areas.”
• The city of Port Moody has a Bear Essentials program that includes tips on managing bear attractants like garbage, reporting bear sightings and being alert to bears when hiking or in local parks. Go to www.portmoody.ca for more information.
