Sun 29 Jul 2007
North Vancouver homeowners asked to keep garbage indoors
Linda Nguyen, Vancouver Sun
Published: Saturday, July 28, 2007
A warning to District of North Vancouver residents during the municipal workers’ strike: Keep those mountains of garbage indoors, or risk attracting out-of-town bears.
Fewer than 10 black bears are thought to live in the populated parts of the district, but that could change quickly as the ripe odour of piled-up garbage drifts to neighbouring municipalities and to the mountain slopes above.
“What could happen is bears from West Vancouver could come over to stinky North Vancouver,” said Barbara Murray of Bear Matters BC.
West Van bears are not at all snooty about where their next meal comes from. “They don’t know the boundaries,” Murray said. “They just know that there are more people and more garbage here.”
A North Shore resident herself, she said many of her neighbours are being lax about garbage removal despite the strike.
“We have to keep people vigilant about putting garbage in basements or garages. I still see it kept outside,” Murray said.
“Bears can be habituated in a couple of days and they’ll start thinking: ‘Why should I go back to natural food when I can eat human food?,’” she said.
Murray and other bear experts say residents should try to keep the volume of garbage down by practising the three Rs: reduce, reuse and recycle. As well:
n When composting, they should add lime to the bins to break down the garbage quicker.
n Egg shells should be rinsed so they won’t smell and attract bears.
n Wet garbage, including diapers, should be put together and immediately disposed of away from residences.
n Backyard bird feeders with sunflower seeds are attractive to bears.
n Barbecues should be cleaned regularly during the summer season.
But if residents do encounter a bear on their property or trying to get into their garbage, Murray suggests yelling or making loud noises from a safe distance, perhaps from a balcony or window, to deter future visits.
“Bears are very intelligent animals. They’ll jump on garbage bins and rip open hinges or scratch up shed doors,” Murray said. “There’s not much you can do but let them eat and make sure they understand they’re not welcome.”
Meanwhile, the regional district’s North Shore transfer station on Riverside Drive in North Vancouver has been seeing line-ups of up to 45 minutes.
© The Vancouver Sun 2007
