Residents of Calgary’s Discovery Ridge neighbourhood have to be more deliberate in putting out their garbage, recycling and compost carts after bears were reported scavenging garbage from carts in the city.
On Friday morning, that southwest neighbourhood was temporarily designated a “wildlife affected” area, triggering the part of the city’s waste bylaw saying carts can be put out no earlier than 5 a.m. and returned to their secure storage enclosure no later than 7 p.m. on the collection day.
It’s the first time the wildlife-related amendments to the bylaw have been put into effect since they were approved by council on Sept. 12.
The city recently received several confirmed reports of bears scavenging garbage from bins in Discovery Ridge.
“One of the, if not the number one, cause of human/bear conflicts occurs when bears are able to access residential waste and become food habituated, and that was why reports of bears scavenging from carts is a key indicator to designate a specific area as a ‘wildlife affected’ area under the Waste Bylaw amendments,” a city spokesperson told Global News in an email.
Discovery Ridge backs onto Tsuut’ina Nation, whose northern portion has been largely undeveloped.
The past few years have seen multiple reports of bears and cubs in the area, and last October four were euthanized after becoming “food-conditioned.”
The city has been actively promoting its “Bear Smart” waste practices for residents of that neighbourhood since May.
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