West-side Colorado Springs residents are now required to either buy a bear-resistant trash can or abide by specific trash collection times, the City Council decided Oct. 8.

With the unanimous approval of two ordinances, the council cemented a bear management map and locked in requirements for the bear-resistant trash cans within the mapped area encompassing most of the city’s west side.

The bear-resistant trash cans likely won’t eliminate human contact with bears, Frank McGee, area wildlife manager for Colorado Parks and Wildlife, told the council last month. Rather, they’re meant to curb the availability of food the bears can forage from human sources.

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Since April 1, El Paso County has seen at least 480 reported bear sightings, McGee said. Two bears were relocated and five were euthanized, he said.

Bears are attracted to human food waste, McGee has said, though it can cause health problems and encourage a dependence on trash rather than natural food sources.

This time of year, bears are active about 20 hours each day, striving to eat as many as 20,000 calories daily, McGee said. This is called hyperphagia, where bears look to eat as much as possible while exerting little energy to prepare for winter. Bear-resistant trash cans would strongly discourage the animals from foraging in neighborhood trash cans, he said.

The new mandate will become effective on March 1.

Those who use trash cans owned by waste companies can upgrade their receptacles for a nominal monthly fee, the amount of which is likely dependent on the individual company, city spokesman Ted Skroback said. Trash cans that meet the bear-resistant requirements can also be bought online or at local stores for $250 to $500 or more, he said.

But west-side residents need not spend hundreds to abide by the new laws. The ordinances allow those who do not want to upgrade their trash cans — or can’t afford the switch – to place the receptacles out for collection no earlier than 5 a.m. and to bring them in no later than 7 p.m. on pick-up day.

For the most part, that timing should keep the availability of edible trash out of reach of bears during their most active hours of dawn and dusk, McGee told the council.

Some exceptions are allowed for those who work outside of those hours, however. Those details can be found online at coloradosprings.gov/bears.

Many residents keep their trash inside a garage until pick-up day already and likely won’t be affected by the new ordinances, Council President Pro Tem Tom Strand said.

A first violation of the ordinance can be met with a $100 fine from city code enforcement. A second violation brings a $250 fine, while third and subsequent violations fetch $500 fines.

But city code enforcement officers will strive for voluntary compliance and issue warnings before any fines, said Mitch Hammes, the city’s neighborhood services manager and head of housing code enforcement.

Nancy Wilson, an organizer with the Bear Smart Task Force, said a similar ordinance has been effective in Manitou Springs since coming into effect this January.

Code enforcement officers in Manitou Springs are not inundated with violations and residents have steadily switched to using bear-resistant trash cans, Wilson said.

Violations in Colorado Springs will be solely reported by neighbor complaints, Council President Richard Skorman said during a work session last month.

“We’re not going to go around to neighborhoods and look for dumped garbage and for the fact that they don’t have a bear-proof can,” he said. “But if there are complaints, then code enforcement will go out. … We want this to be as much about education as anything else.”

The proposed ordinances have been the topic of many public meetings and conversations in recent months.

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With unanimous approval of two ordinances, the City Council cemented a bear management map and locked in requirements for the bear-resistant trash cans within the mapped area encompassing most of the city’s west side.

Courtesy of Colorado Parks and Wildlife
The Colorado Springs City Council approved two ordinances last week, establishing a bear management map and requiring use of bear-resistant trash cans for much of the city’s west side.