Port Coquitlam garbage rules are working, says city
Fewer PoCo residents are leaving their garbage out on the curb the night before collection day, which means less bears are attracted to populated neighbourhoods.
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Port Coquitlam’s decision to levy fines against people who leave their garbage out on the curb over night may be frustrating to some residents, but the measures appear to be having the desired effect.
When the city began looking at different ways of reducing the number of bears that wander in to populated neighbourhoods there were 800 trash bins on average left out the night before garbage pickup in the northern section of the municipality. According to Dan Scoones, the city’s manager of bylaw services, that number has since dropped to less than 100.
“I think the people we are engaging with now, most of them realize it is possible to get a fine,” Scoones said. “Most of them are saying ‘yeah, I will comply.’”
Still, there are some of the 9,000 residents in the bear-prone north PoCo neighbourhoods that are still leaving their trash bins out overnight.
Excuses range from not being able to take their cans to the curb during the designated time to being unaware of the new regulations, said Scoones.
Earlier in the summer the city council adopted bylaw changes that would see those who leave their garbage unsecured receive $150 fines. Also, containers must be brought to the curb between 5:30 a.m. and 7:30 a.m.
Scoones said so far, no fines have been handed out. However he added he may have to issue some next week.
Other bylaw changes that applied to the targeted area included:
• owners of fruit trees must immediately remove fallen fruit and pick fruit upon ripening;
• beehives, bird feeders and petroleum products must be inaccessible to wildlife;
• outdoor refrigerators or freezers must be securely locked or inaccessible to wildlife;
• and wildlife attractants may not be put into compost piles.
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