Hello there a lot of people off to work before 4 in this town.

Yes, I agree, so we have to put it out....just secure the lid properly I guess.

"Garbages placed on the curbside overnight attract wildlife and bears to neighbourhoods all around the city," says Bass.  "Garbage is the number one human-produced attractant that lures bears into our city every year."

Could these people please explain to me how 40 feet from my backyard to the curb makes a difference in attracting bears? The bears nose knows where the food is and 40 feet isn't going to make a bit of difference. A lot of people in the West bowl area are backed up against green belts, so is the next step to fine those people for storing their garbage in their backyards? All I can do is laugh!

NoWay: "Could these people please explain to me how 40 feet from my backyard to the curb makes a difference in attracting bears?"

It's not. They would probably tell you to move it inside (a shed or garage). It is easy to tag cans on the street; otherwise, they would have to go on your property to do so.

I can't honestly see people who put out their trash either early or overnight are going to be going out and checking their tash for a "TAG"
I like the idea behind it all but think you are wasting a lot of time, energy and money on this idea of the tags...
but i wish you well .....

I wonder if a similar idea would work for those who still think not texting or talking on their cell phones while driving is for everyone else but them....???

It's a good way to gain some publicity for the group, what hurt can be caused by tagging some garbage bags?

"I like the idea behind it all but think you are wasting a lot of time, energy and money on this idea of the tags..."

Agreed. There is a huge amount of taxpayer money spent in the name of 'awareness' on many fronts, mostly to protect people from their own stupidity.

don't get me wrong JohnnyBelt, I thinkt the idea of teaching people to protect themselves is great....
but i think the most of the people they tag really don't care about anything but themselves....
the tagging is a waste of money not the education if it works.....

I also don't see the difference between moving the can 40 feet from the back yard to the front driveway makes any difference at all. Comply or get a ticket? Police state working as intented.

So while my garbage can sits in the back yard all week, moving it a few feet all of a sudden attracts bears. What a waste of time.

Really, if your home is in an area likely to have bears cruising past looking for meals, you should have some sort of an enclosure to keep the container in anyway.
Make the bears work for their meals.
metalman.

I too agree that moving the cans after 4am makes no difference. The bears don't care if they are next to the house, or out at the curb. This is a ridiculous bylaw.I think that they need to back off, or make the cans bear proof.
As for awareness, I think we all get it. We are aware. Thanks.

Potholes: "I also don't see the difference between moving the can 40 feet from the back yard to the front driveway makes any difference at all. Comply or get a ticket? Police state working as intented. "

Don't get melodramatic. Could you imagine the uproar if the City tried to tell people where they could store the garbage can on their own property? People would be making comparisons to Nazi Germany no doubt.

That's next JohnnyB, this same group wants your Bbq in a bear proof container too!
Give me a ticket! I don't care, and I won't pay it, see ya in court!

NoWay: "Give me a ticket! I don't care, and I won't pay it, see ya in court!"

The judge then would likely say "Ok then, see ya in jail, until the ticket is paid". It's not worth it to me, but hey, if you want to make a principled political statement out of this, I won't stop you.

Never been to court for parking tickets.....they send two notices then stop. I imagine the garbage can fines will be the same.

But that wasn't my garbage can sir judge. Just because there was a garbage can in front of my house does it make it mine?

Pay me $40,000 dollars a year and I will tag everyone's garbage can. Might take me a few years to "git 'er done". If not, fire me with a BIG severance!

Yes, I agree there is not much difference between my driveway where the can sits and the street...what a laugh is right!!!!!! In the bowl tonight the pulp mills smell SO BAD....just like ammonia which is what it is....my chest is actually hurting....think a move is in order.

I want to see these people who are texting while driving get their tickets....that is what is important you know!!!!!!!!!!

I wonder if some bears out their are thinking,yep it's Wednesday,garbage day in College Heights tommorow. I think I'll be eaten good tonight.Tommorow night it's off to Peden Hill for dinner.They must think everyone has the room in there sheds for a garbage can because if you just put the can in your back yard,bears can climb fences,as I've seen it for myself.

My can sits about 20 feet from the curb all week under a monstrous spruce tree, against my fence.. I have no intention of moving it into my back yard. That can belongs to the city of PG and they can damn well look after it themselves. If they don't like what's happening, they should get out of the garbage business and give it to the private sector.

I think they are trying to stress that a fed bear is a dead bear. We co-exist with the wildlife here in our city and I hate reading that another bear has had to be put down because it was habituated to the easy availability of our trash. They have become nuisance bears because of us and they pay the ultimate price through no fault of their own.

Its what is in the can that attracts bears. Anything that we put in them is in plastic bags as well. We don't smell anything from ours. That's not saying a bear couldn't, its just saying we don't an odiferous one.

The Charter of Rights has a clause in it about "Freedom of Association". If one doesn't wish to be "associated" with the garbage removal department and wishes to be his own independent contractor responsible for his own garbage disposal, then one should have the "freedom" to opt out. I asked at city hall. They said it was in the bylaw section of the city charter. Fed charter trump a city charter?

Let me offer a different perspective,maybe the people at Bear aware and Northern Bear Awareness are just trying to reduce the number of bears that are killed each year in the city or maybe they are trying to keep our neighborhoods safe for those of us that have a real fear of bears or maybe they are trying to assist the COS with the number of calls they must deal with because the safety of the public comes first or maybe they are trying to eliminate gunshots and dead bears on peoples lawns. We will always have bears in PG because of where we are located,how long the bears stay in certain areas depends on how we manage attractants not just for ourselves but for the others that live around us.

"We will always have bears in PG because of where we are located,how long the bears stay in certain areas depends on how we manage attractants not just for ourselves but for the others that live around us."

So here is the deal. You can't store your garbage outside anymore because it attracts bears. So the City Of PG will stop collecting garbage infront of your house once a week because the setting out of garbage goes against the Wildlife act.

So this it what everyone in PG will have to do.......
Once you can't stand the smell of garbage in your own home you must take it to the nearest transfer station and dispose of it in bear safe manner. If the transfer station has a fee you will pay that fee.

If you have fruit trees and or bushes in your yard you will be fined by a Conservation Officer for breaking the Wildlife act of un-intentionally feeding wildlife. You will be given two weeks to remove those attractants. The City of PG will have to remove all fruit trees and wildberry bushes from within the City limits.

This will stop all the bears from coming into town and none will have to be destroyed.

Crap! What to do about the bbq's and the smell from all those restuarants!

Let's stop treating animals like humans as though they have rights. Lets all grow up and treat them like bears, if they come into town they get shot=---simple---that way there are no repeat offenders and they won't drag their offspring here. Shoot every one that comes to town this summer and there will only be two of them in town next year. Get over it!

There is so much wrong with this whole notion of watching out for bears and other wildlife in urban areas.

1. For those who wish to stay in harmony with wildlife such as bears, please do not create urban developments in the middle of bear country.

2. If you do create such urban development in those locations, do not then create wildlife corridors, either intentionally or unintentionally.

3. When unwanted wildlife does enter the developments in spite of all the design precautions taken, remove the wildlife to remote areas or kill it.

4. Not everyone has a shed or garage to store garbage. Having bylaws that speak about moving garbage cans at certain times has nothing to do with bears, as people have already posted. An effective bylaw would deal with requiring properly secured structures to house the garbage cans. If there is such a bylaw, then the city is not enforcing it. Should be the easiest thing in the world to do.

5. The garbage cans should be designed to prevent bears from accessing the contents. Not only that, they should be designed to prevent bears from smelling the contents. The garbage cans are the City’s, so it is the City’s fault for providing us with an inferior product. It is inferior because it is not designed for the purpose it should be designed for in “bear territory”.

If anyone thinks that the City has not done its due diligence, then, in my opinion you are correct. Why do I think that? Because we are not the only location that might have the occasional bear disturbance. Look at places like Alaska, Colorado, etc. for to see what is done there as far as bylaws go.

Here is one from a community in Colorado.
“This ordinance does not limit time or placement of trash containers until a wildlife trash disturbance has occurred and you have received a courtesy notice of violation. If you receive a courtesy notice of violation and lack a garage, shed, or trash enclosure to store your trash, a wildlife-resistant trash container is required. Wildlife-resistant trash containers can be stored outside during the week, as long as they remain latched at all times, with the exception of being unlatched when placed curbside on the morning of trash collection.”

Now that seems reasonable to me in many ways.

Work together on this, City Hall! Don’t give us an inferior product, hand it over, and say: ”here, you take care of how you can bear proof it.”

http://www.durangogov.org/green/bearfaq.cfm#require

In my view Bear Aware is complicit in this situation by not doing their research and coming up with reasonable solutions as I think places like those in Colorado have.