Bear proofing the garbage totes in Squamish has dramatically decreased the number of bear calls and incidents in the past year, but not without some human complications.
The bins need to be locked with clips attached when storing it outside during the week, but be sure to unlock the clips when service day comes around if you want your garbage collected.
Britannia Beach resident Tom Green found out the hard way on April 27 what happens if a customer doesn't follow Carney's Waste System's policy.
"It was garbage day and one of the little clips was still done up because my girlfriend's son couldn't get the clip undone," he said.
"So what they did was get out of the truck, put an orange sticker on the thing and drive off without picking up the garbage."
Green called the gesture unfair as well as a safety and health concern.
"It's not that I don't want to comply. I feel really badly for them that the clip was still on and they would have to undue the clip, but it's their job to pick up the garbage," said Green.
He took matters into his own hands and brought his bin full of garbage to the Carney's parking lot the following day (April 28), left it in the visitor's stall and tried to speak with someone at the company.
Green said they weren't helpful and didn't even take his name and number, so he left the garbage bin there.
When he returned on April 29, company operations manager Paul Kindree greeted him and said the truck driver was just following Carney's policy as directed.
However, Kindree said, the Carney's policy states that first time offenders "normally have a 'get out of jail free' card."
He said the Britannia Beach area, where Green lives, is fairly new on the route and the driver didn't know the first offender policy. He told Green the company would dump the garbage and return it to his home the following day, which they did.
"We try to work with most people," said Kindree, "but we do have some chronic offenders out there, and at some point we need to put our foot down and say 'Enough is enough.'"
Green said he understands the policy outlined in the pamphlet that was distributed to all residents, but he doesn't think leaving the garbage to sit for another two weeks, and potentially running out of room for the garbage generated in that time, is an appropriate response.
"I don't think the punishment fits the crime."
Green suggested handing out fine instead, "just like they like they do for any other infraction."
Squamish conservation officer Chris Doyle said he hasn't seen any safety hazard as of yet, but if people start leaving the garbage out in the open because their totes weren't emptied, they can issue a dangerous wildlife protection order.
Bear Aware program co-ordinator Meg Toom said the bi-weekly schedule of garbage pick-up is already one reason bear proofing is necessary. She said the longer garbage sits, the worse it becomes as a bear attractant.
"What attracts bears to our areas are odours," she said. "Garbage that sits around for a month is obviously going to be a lot smellier than garbage that sits around for two weeks."
Toom called the notion of a fine was "a really interesting idea," and she would want to look into it a bit more.
Kindree said Carney's would look at changing the policy, but said a fine solution would be problematic.
"We probably couldn't do that through our contract because in order to impose a fine municipally you need to create a bylaw that allows you to do that," said Kindree.
"There's a lot of red tape to make that happen so I don't really see that as a real practical solution."
Kindree said if a tote isn't picked up then the owner can bring it to Carney's to be emptied or sometimes Carney's can go pick it up the next day.
"That sure seems like a lot more trouble than just undoing the clip while you're putting the orange sticker on the thing," said Green.
