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City Garbage Cans Withstand Bear Test
The Critter Guard™ Lock System for the City's waste collection carts used by the City of Port Coquitlam has been fully endorsed by Bear Aware™. Prior to receiving Bear Aware™ endorsement, Critter Guard was required to install a lock on a City collection cart and send it to the Living with Wildlife Foundation (LWWF) facility in Montana for testing. There, the locked cart underwent strict testing which included the following steps:
- Facility personnel prepared the cart by placing a food reward inside of the container. The cart also contained attractants (i.e. honey, peanut butter, or fish oil) applied to the outside of the cart in vulnerable areas, such as susceptible seams, latches and handles.
- The cart with the Critter Guard™ lock was then placed inside the bear habitat to allow the bears a chance to break into the cart.
- Facility personnel monitored and videotaped the product testing.
- The testing protocol maintained that the products remain accessible to the bear until the product is breached or until a total of 60 minutes of bear contact time has elapsed. Bear contact time is defined as: biting, clawing, pounding, rolling, compressions, licking, or scratching of the cart. A cart is considered to have been breached if the hinges, seams or doors are breached and the bear gains entry at any of these points.
- The City collection cart with the Critter Guard™ lock was tested with various Grizzly bears at the LWWF facility over a four hour period.
