About 300 bear-resistant residential garbage carts are about to be deployed in the Croft neighbourhood in the Hart Highlands.
The carts will arrive at no cost to households ion April 15 and will be at the centre of a pilot project to see how effective they are at deterring the animals from breaking into a container and feeding on its contents.
They are designed to be difficult for bears to open but still easy for humans to deal with. They can be unlocked with one hand and will open when tipped upside down by a garbage truck.
"Bears spend half of their year eating as much as possible before hibernation, which can include eating garbage, fruit, or other available attractants," said the city's strategic parks planner Laurie Kosec.
"Prince George has the highest number of bear sightings in B.C., and an average of 35 local bears are destroyed every year as they usually cannot be successfully rehabilitated after they get used to seeking out garbage."
A bear-resistant bin is about five times the price of a regular, large-sized bin, which is part of the reason the bins are first being tested on a pilot project.
The city worked with the Northern Bear Awareness Society and the B.C. Conservation Service to select an appropriate area to launch the project.
The carts will be set out on the following streets in the Croft neighbourhood: Cook Crescent, Cottonwood Place, Croft Road, Dunbar Place, Erickson Street, Glade Road, Hepting Road, Ingala Drive, Kim Place, Lehman Street, Monterery Road, Oakridge Crescent, Poplar Place, Winslow Drive and Winslow Place.
Bear-resistant bins have been in use at civic facilities, particularly along trails and the river, which are more likely to be frequented by bears.
Households elsewhere in the city are encourage to keep their carts stored away from bears on days when there is no garbage collection in their neighbourhood.
"Bears are waking up early this year due to warmer temperatures and there is not much food available due to the snow cover," said Kosec.
"Garbage is a prime attractant for bears and carts should be kept in a location that is as inaccessible as possible to bears."
