Starting April 1, bear-proof bins will be required in Mancos.
People will have to make a “reasonable effort” to contain their trash to prevent bears and other wildlife from getting inside, said Town Marshal Justen Goodall.
A reasonable effort looks like a chain over the trash or some sort of “latching device” that “will withstand opening by wildlife and remain closed when on their side or upside down,” according to Chapter 7 Article 8 in the Mancos Municipal Code from 2008.
Since the trash collector will have to unhook the cans to dump the trash, costs associated with garbage collection will likely go up, Goodall said.
The move to enforce this code comes after two large bears were removed from the town this fall, “trapped within feet of the Mancos School Dumpsters,” Goodall said in a statement to the Town Board on Wednesday, Oct. 23.
Though the dumpsters at the school are technically compliant, they were overfilled, and that’s how the bears got in.
“The common denominator was trash being unsecured in town,” Goodall said.
The first time a bear is trapped, it’s released. But if they’re trapped a second time, they’re euthanized.
“Two bears are now sentenced to be euthanized the next time they are trapped,” said Goodall. “These bears are not problem bears, they did not attack or harm anyone or pets. They simply were trying to survive the upcoming winter and found the easiest food source.”
While the bears are hibernating this winter, Goodall intends to educate the public about the problem and upcoming enforcement, as he will be issuing citations for noncompliant trash cans with no “reasonable effort” to contain their trash.
“We speak about being good stewards of resources, mainly water. As the town of Mancos continues to grow, we need to think about the other natural resources we continue to impact such as our wildlife,” Goodall said.
