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Animal Proof Containers
pedestrian_wasteUp until 1997, the Town of Canmore provided its residents with a traditional curbside waste collection program.

In the fall of 1996, responding to increasing concerns from the public and environmental groups regarding bears in waste, Council requested the Waste Management Committee to investigate options for animal proofing the Town’s waste handling system.  The committee recommended that the Town eliminate curbside collection and implement a communal ‘bear bin’ collection system.  Despite this recommendation, Council voted in favor of a dual waste handling system that included both curbside collection and neighborhood animal proof waste containers.  There was the perception at the Council level that residents were opposed to the complete elimination of curbside collection.  This hybrid system gave residents the option of continuing to place waste out for curbside pick up on their collection day or use the bear proof containers any time.

Coinciding with the start of the dual system in April 1997, strict new standards for storage and placement of waste were written into the Town’s Waste Control Bylaw.  These include:

Providing a communal waste collection system required the evaluation for an acceptable waste container.  Of the tender submissions received, there were two types of containers that met the criteria for animal proof as established by the lead biologist for the Eastern Slopes Grizzly Project Committee on Resources and the Environment who was also a member of our Waste Management Committee.  Having a respected bear expert working with us as part of the WMC proved to be a valuable tool as it gave the WMC clout and credibility.

The containers had to meet the following criteria to be defined animal proof:
  • Tight lids to reduce odors.
  • Lids must be self-closing.
  • Latches for its lids and bag removal must be bear proof (i.e. claws unable to reach the latch trigger mechanism).
  • Hinges and latches for lids must be sufficiently strong such that they cannot be pried open by claws (able to withstand several thousand pounds of force).  The rule of thumb is that if it can be dismantled using a crowbar then it is not bear proof.
  • The container must be sufficiently stable or capable of being anchored to prevent tipping by large bears.
  • Container material must be sufficiently strong to prevent bears chewing, battering or crushing the containers (i.e. able to withstand several thousand pounds of force).
To read more on the history of the "Bear Proof Bins" follow the link to The Canmore Experience.

To date, the Solid Waste Service Department maintains 200 Residential ‘Bear Proof’ containers throughout the town and as the population increases and the area grows, this number will continue to rise.