Be bear smart
Wildlife affected areas
The temporary 'wildlife affected' area declaration in Discovery Ridge in accordance with Waste Bylaw 4M2020 has now ended. We thank Discovery Ridge residents who diligently followed the Bear Smart best practices during this period and, while the special requirements for residential waste storage and collection are no longer in effect, we encourage all residents in communities with a history of bear visitors to continue practicing the Bear Smart best practices. Let's continue working together to reduce the risk of attracting wildlife into our residential areas.
Don’t invite bears over for a midnight snack.
Bears and other wildlife will come into our communities looking for easy sources of food. Residential collection carts, fruit trees, bird feeders and other human-related food sources are strong attractants. Once a bear receives a food reward it can lose its natural wariness of humans. Food-conditioned bears can pose a serious safety risk in communities and may need to be trapped and relocated or even euthanized.
Prevent this from happening by securing all food attractants and by managing your waste properly.
Here are some things you can do:
Do
- Set your carts out no earlier than 5 a.m. and no later than 7 a.m. on collection day.
- Put away your carts after collection, no later than 7 p.m.
- Freeze food waste prior to putting it out in the green cart on your collection day.
- Clean the carts periodically to reduce odours.
- Store your carts inside a garage or other secure enclosure.
Note: Secure storage options are available offering an alternative to limited garage space. These enclosures can be purchased or built. An example of such is found here: https://haulall.com/hid-a-cart/
Don't
- Don't put your carts out overnight.
- We kindly ask our residents to work with their neighbors if their schedule doesn't allow them to put out their carts between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m. on their collection day.
- Let's all do our part to keep our community safe and avoid attracting bears and other wildlife.
Store your carts inside an enclosure like a shed or garage to prevent animals from getting into your bins
It's important to remember that overnight cart set out has been identified as a significant attractant of bears and other wildlife. That's why we recommend only putting out your carts the morning of collection, this is standard practice in many municipalities that have a history of bear-human conflicts.