MISSION (NEWS1130) - Bear sightings have almost doubled in Mission compared to last summer and some people who live there blame new "rot pots" or food waste bins that have to put out for collection.
One woman is upset with the number of
bears that have been destroyed in her neighbourhood and says the garbage bins are to blame. She's now calling on the city to beef up its rules surrounding trash containers.
Sarah Gannon says the city requires people to have a separate food waste bin, but the problem is not everyone has it properly stored -- and that's bringing in the bears.
She adds while people are welcome to purchase their own bear-proof bins, they still need to transfer the waste into a regular bin for curbside pickup. "[Because] they have to get special trucks to dispose of the garbage. Or they have to get people and pay them more to deal with the latching."
"It's more work for them, but I'd love to see the city actually provide a better bin and give people a lot more information. They've got the bear aware program
, but there is only one person running it."
Zoey Slater is the
Bear Aware Coordinator for the area and tells us trash needs to be secured and not placed out until collection day. "I understand the issue that some people don't have a garage. I have a carport, but I've been storing it in my laundry room."
"I know there is an issue with smell sometimes. Layering it with newspaper really helps as well as freezing some of that really smelly material," she adds.
Gannon tells us a bear was living under her deck for six months last year before a conservation officer came by to shoot it.