Wildlife + Waste

One of the main reasons bears enter a neighbourhood is due to mismanaged garbage. The bears cannot change their behaviour, but we can.

We encourage all residents of Burke Mountain to ensure that they:

• Keep garbage out of reach – when bears learn that garbage means food, they come back to it again and again.
• Store garbage and recycling indoors, in a very sturdy shed or in a bear resistant garbage container.
• Place all food scraps in the Green Can – it gets collected first!
• Bears have an incredible sense of smell, so we need to get food off the curb as soon as possible. Make sure your food scraps are in your Green Can and it is out with your garbage and recycling between 5:30am and 7:30am on your collection day. No bins (not even yard trimmings or your blue box) can be placed out earlier than 5:30am on the day of pick-up.
• Keep your barbeque clean.
• Remove bird feeders or suspend them on a cable.

Feeding bears, even unintentionally, is against the law in BC. Residents are responsible for managing their waste correctly so that it doesn’t attract wildlife. Failure to do so can result in a $500 fine from the City of Coquitlam.

For more information on keeping your neighbourhood Bear Safe, visit bearaware.bc.ca.