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Golden Council has approved the purchase of bear-resistent garbage bins

The first 400 bear-proof bins have been approved, and will be placed in priority areas in town next year.
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The Town has approved the purchase of 400 bear-resistent garbage bins.

Town Council has approved the purchase of 400 new garbage bins that will be equipped with bear resistant locks.

"We live in a bear area, and this is one of the things we can do to be responsible," said Jon Wilsgard, CAO for the Town of Golden.

The bins will not be distributed until after the winter, as the winter weather can cause some damage to the bins, and will go to neighbourhoods that are deemed to be priority areas.

"We will determine where they can best be distributed, and it will also take some time to educate the public how to use them properly," added Wilsgard.

The Town has a reserve fund set up for this purpose, and the $70,791 to purchase the 400 bear-resistant bins (plus the replacement of 100 blue recycling bins) will come out of that reserve.

The Town will have to purchase 1500 units to equip every neighbourhood, and hope to have a community-wide change out of ins by 2020. Given that the municipality will continue putting funds into the reserve, the Town should be able to complete the change-out using only reserve funds.

The bear-resistant bins are being purchased from Shaefer, and have been tested in the field to secure garbage, food, and the scents that attract wildlife. They are already being used my other municipalities in Alberta and New Jersey