[bouldercouncilhotline] Hotline: FW: Bears and Trash

[cmosupport at bouldercolorado.gov]

Sender: Young, Mary

Below is Val Matheson's response to my inquiry regarding retrofits. Photos included.

Mary Dolores Young
Boulder City Council
303-501-2439
youngm at bouldercolorado.gov




From: Matheson, Valerie
Sent: Wednesday, December 18, 2013 10:25 AM
To: Young, Mary
Cc: Ellis, Lesli; Richstone, Susan
Subject: RE: Bears and Trash





Hi Mary,
 
Thank you for your email.  I have been considering retrofits as part of the options on how to best secure trash in Boulder. 

 
According to Sylvia Dolson of the Bear Smart Society in Whistler, many municipalities start their endeavor of securing trash from bears with retrofitting existing carts as it is
 less expensive, and for the most part those endeavors hinder the process of finding a solution because money invested in retrofitting is lost as the retrofit fails, the endeavor switches to other systems of securing trash. 

 
In talking to Patti Sowka, who was in charge of bear-resistant testing program through the Living with Wildlife Foundation for many years (tested over 175 bear-resistant products)
 she pointed out that retrofits were used exclusively prior to containers being manufactured as “bear-resistant” and there is quite bit of information on them.  On October 30, she wrote:
 
Until Toter designed a bear-resistant polycart, all of the available bear-resistant carts were regular “off-the-shelf” carts that were modified by adding
 hardware.  Those were our only options for quite some time.  We did, and still do, see lots of issues with metal banding rusting, bending, or being pulled off by bears or damaged after repeated hauling.  We’ve seen rivets pop after the plastic around the rivets
 begins to crack, etc.  So the lifespan can be a lot shorter with those retrofitted carts.  If expectations for long lifespan aren’t an issue, most of those carts work pretty well for at least a period of time.  Keep in mind that they are ALL semi-automated
 so they can’t be used with a fully-automated hauler unless someone undoes latches prior to pick-up or the carts are allowed to sit out unlatched (which should never be allowed!).
 
I just heard that Cascade Engineering out of the Midwest recently (like a week ago) tested a new retrofitted polycart.  I don’t yet know what it looks
 like or how it operates but it is, as far as I know, also semi-automated.  Of course it will be some time before we have any field data relative to how that container holds up against weather issues and hauler use.
 
Toter was the first company to use its own molded polycart and it uses very little external hardware.  They seem to be working pretty well from the
 limited feedback I’ve received thus far.  The Kodiak Can went two steps further and became the ONLY fully-automated, bear-resistant polycart.  It also was designed from the ground up, made of a very durable plastic and has no external hardware to rust.  It
 is listed on the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee’s list of approved products.
 
If you decide to allow haulers or homeowners to retrofit their own existing carts, I highly urge you to have them testing in West Yellowstone before
 allowing them to be used.  And keep in mind, if the carts are retrofitted with metal hardware, there is a high likelihood of metal fatigue and/or rusting and cracking of the actual cart around the metal retrofits which will likely decrease the lifespan of
 the cart dramatically.
 
That being said, I have found one municipality,  Swamish, BC that has a retrofit polycart that was tested at the
 Living with Wildlife testing facility , and has been in use for a couple of years (see attached photo of design).  In speaking to Meg Toom, the
Squamish WildSafe BC Community Coordinator, she expressed trials and tribulations with an earlier design, but their current
 design seems to be working (not that a bear can’t get in them if inspired, see additional photos).  Meg wrote that having a contractor install the tested and approved retrofit has been helpful.
 
I am intrigued by the idea of a retrofit, however, product testing facility does not test products in the winter (no testing Nov1- April 1), so the viability of a new retrofit design
 could not be evaluated until April of 2014.  
 
Locally, I have been contacted by Tom Dickson of Nature Proof who currently has a retrofit for raccoons, and is working on a bear design.  I was also told about the Scrap Sister’s
 presentation at council last night.  A consideration for any of these new designs is we would not know how they held up in testing until the first week of April (soonest possible).  I have discussed with Western Disposal the possibility of using a contractor
 and retrofit design that has already been tested and certified (i.e. Squamish contractor Rollins Machinery).  Western is in contact with them, however I believe the location of that contractor poses challenges.
 
I hope this helps illustrate some of the retrofit considerations, please send me any additional questions or ideas.
Thank you,
Val
 
Valerie Matheson
Urban Wildlife Conservation Coordinator
City of Boulder
Community Planning and Sustainability

Comprehensive Planning Division
1739 Broadway, 4th floor
Boulder, CO 80306
(303) 441-3004
 
 
 
                                                                                                                                                                



From: Young, Mary

Sent: Tuesday, December 10, 2013 8:21 AM
To: Matheson, Valerie
Subject: Fwd: Bears and Trash


 

Hi Valerie,


 


Thank you for working on the bear issue and holding last night's meeting.


 


Have you considered retrofits (see below)? I will be meeting with Isabel McDevitt of the Ready to Work program to see if it would be feasible for a small social enterprise to do the retrofitting and possibly an locking/unlocking service.


 


Best to you,


 



Mary Dolores Young


Boulder City Council


youngm at bouldercolorado.gov


303-501-2439


 

 


 

Begin forwarded message:





From:
linda <lbehlen at hotmail.com>


Subject: RE: Bears and Trash


Date:
December 9, 2013 10:32:10 AM MST


To:
"council at bouldercolorado.gov" <council at bouldercolorado.gov>

 



Here is a way that I could just retrofit my existing container. Why can't I just do this? I care about bears, not interested in paying more for trash service.


 

http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/wildlife/bear/bear-resistant-retrofit-polycart.pdf




From:
lbehlen at hotmail.com
To: council at bouldercolorado.gov
Subject: Bears and Trash
Date: Mon, 9 Dec 2013 10:26:15 -0700

Hello,

I have been reading the Daily Camera about the Bear and Trash situation.


I agree that something should be done to help curb the number of hazard bears in Boulder.


 


I live at 2750 Vassar Drive in South Boulder,my home is near the East end of the street near Yale, a good distance from open space but still west of Broadway.


 


My opinion is that first the city should start to enforce the 5 am placement of trash on the street prior to forcing citizens to purchase bear proof containers. I notice most of my neighbors
 put their trash out the night before. It is not that difficult to move the trash from the garage to the street in the morning. 


 


I am opposed to forcing all residents west of Broadway to purchase bear proof containers. Many live quite a distance from open space. Personally, there are only 2 persons living in my home
 and we usually only fill 1/3 of the smallest container. (we would sign up for even less trash volume if we could) Why should I be forced to purchase a larger size trash service when I don't even fully use what I purchase now just because people are too lazy
 to follow the existing city ordinance?  


 


One round of ticketing should do the trick.


 


Thank you  for listening to my opinion.


Linda Behlen






 
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