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Bear-Smart Curbside Collection
October 2, 2025

Hey Cowichan!

Let’s Keep Our Community Bear-Smart!

As bears become more active, all of us need to do our part. By following Bear Smart curbside collection practices, we help prevent bears from becoming food-conditioned and keep wildlife wild and our communities safe.

Here’s how you can help:

  • Put totes out the morning of collection, not the night before
  • Store totes securely in a garage or a sturdy shed between your collection days
  • Keep your totes clean to minimize smells that attract bears
  • Freeze food scraps (especially meat, bones, and fish) until collection day
  • Rinse recyclables to reduce odours

No tote is truly bear-proof — only bear-resistant. Given enough time and motivation, a bear can break into almost anything. That’s why it’s so important to remove attractants and limit their access as much as possible. The longer a bear spends with your totes, the more likely it will succeed in getting in.

For more information on how to manage attractants and to report wildlife sightings, visit Wild Safe BC

Call the RAPP hotline (1-877-952-7277) to report any human-wildlife interactions where public or wildlife safety may be at risk.

Land Acknowledgement
The CVRD is in the ancestral and unceded territories of First Nations including (but not limited to) Quw'utsun (Cowichan Tribes), MÁLEXEŁ (Malahat), BOḰEĆEN (Pauquachin), c̓uubaʕsaʔtx̣ (Ts'uubaa-asatx), xeláltxw (Halalt), Spune’luxutth (Penelakut), Stz'uminus, Leey’qsun (Lyackson), Diitiidʔaaʔtx̣ (Ditidaht) and P’a:chi:da?aht (Pacheedaht) Peoples. Local First Nations Peoples have stewarded the lands of this region since time immemorial. The CVRD is committed to the ongoing journey of reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in the region by strengthening cooperation, collaboration, and relationship building.