This story by Tommy Gardner first appeared in Stowe Reporter on April 13.
The black bears are on the move again, and the town of Stowe is preparing to populate its public places with pricey rubbish receptacles designed to keep the critters out.
Now, if only the humans could figure out where to toss their trash.
The town selectboard Monday approved the purchase of 17 bear-proof trash cans to place in town parks and along the Stowe Recreation Path. The bins handle both trash as well as recyclable bottles and cans in one divided container.
The can and bottle part is key because parks and recreation department staff report that, too often, people sometimes toss everything into one bin — an aspirational phenomenon known as “wishcycling” — and the town must toss the recycling with the trash, in violation of state solid waste laws.
Town manager Charles Safford said state and local agencies have advised that the town could curb such contamination by limiting the non-trash receptacles to cans and bottles only.
The town received quotes from two different manufacturers of bear-proof receptacles — $34,202 for 120-gallon bins from Bearsaver and $45,102 for smaller 110-gallon containers from Bearicuda — and went with the lower-priced, higher volume product.
Voters on Town Meeting Day last month approved as part of the town’s capital project spending $60,000 for the rugged containers. At least some of the extra money left from the purchase will be used to pour concrete pads for the containers.
The initiative dovetails with the Stowe Conservation Commission’s annual “Be Bear Aware” campaign, now in its third year. Bear sightings have become increasingly common in recent years as development encroaches on the creatures’ natural territory and the animals start roaming further afield in search of food after their winter hibernation.
Compounding that is an increase during the pandemic of people coming to visit Stowe from out of state who are not aware of Vermont’s strict waste disposal laws, which includes keeping food scraps out of the trash. Bears can sniff out a sack of trash from miles away and are known to not only return year after year to a source of free food, but the mama bears teach their newborns where the good stuff is, leading to generational sojourns to Airbnb trash cans and restaurant dumpsters.
The bear necessities
As the town prepares to put out the new Bearsaver containers, it has also overhauled its municipal website in recent days to highlight all the Bear Aware educational materials.
Among the tips for keeping bears at bay:
• Minimize odors and availability of food by putting garbage out on the day of pick up, not the night before and storing food scraps in a sturdy building or in a bear-resistant trash receptacle.
• Feed pets inside.
• Take bird feeders down between April and November
• Keep barbecues clean.
• Use electric fences to keep bears out of vegetable gardens, compost piles, orchards and beehives
• Place children’s play areas close to the house and away from brush or forested areas.
Find more information at townofstowevt.org.
