Garbage Storage Guidance

Where may garbage be stored?

At all times, year round, except after 4 a.m. on pickup day:

• In a strong, fully enclosed structure such as a garage.
• In a “bear resistant enclosure” – that is, in an enclosure that you can’t get into unless you use your hands or tools. If it can be opened by stomping on it, kicking it, running into it with your body, or other similar actions, it isn’t bear resistant.

Resources, Ideas, and Links

• How to Ratchet Strap Your Garbage Can
• Bear Deterrent and Repellent Products – A list of suppliers of bear resistant containers and storage items
• Garbage Enclosures in Juneau
• Build Your Own — Specs for Building a Wooden Enclosure
  • If you do not have the luxury of keeping your garbage cans in a garage or shed or other fully-enclosed sturdy structure, here are some ideas for how to build an enclosure for your cans and a pdf print out sample:
    • Minimum of 5/8 inch plywood; 2 x 4 construction; use screws instead of nails.
    • Heavy duty hinges and latches strong enough that they cannot be pried open by claws.
    • No seams that claws can get into (use metal flashing to cover seams).
    • Secured so it can’t be tipped.
    • If you can get into it without using your hands-by jumping on it, kicking it, using your shoulders-then it isn’t bear resistant.

Ineffective Storage:

• Regular Rubber/Plastic Garbage Cans – These cans are regularly stomped on, chewed, and mauled by bears.
• Plastic Storage Sheds – The ones designed for gardening equipment and other general purpose storage.

Bear Facts and Research

Alaska Department of Fish and Game

• Living with Bears – Current information towards best practices of bear safety
• Bear Deterrent and Repellent Products – A list of suppliers of bear resistant containers and storage items
• Bears in Alaska – Species profiles
• Electric Fences as Bear Deterrents – Demonstration video
• Bear Spray Demonstration for Hunters – Demonstration video
• Interagency Bear Safety Brochure
• If You Kill a Bear in Defense of Life or Property

Bear Safety

These bear safety guidelines have been provided by our partners at Alaska Department of Fish and Game. By taking  a few simple precautions, you can greatly reduce your changes of encountering a bear.

At Home:

• Securely store all garbage and freezers inside a building or in a bear-resistant container or shed. A bear-resistant container, while not bear proof, is on that a bear cannot get into easily. If a person can open the container without using hands or tools, or if brute force will open it, then it is not bear resistant.
• Do not put trash on the curb until the morning of garbage pickup. Freeze fish waste and smelly garbage until garbage pickup day.
• Take down all bird feeders including hummingbird feeders while bears are active.
• Be sure to bring uneaten pet food inside when pets are done eating.
• Set up an electric fence around your chicken coop or other livestock.
• Do not leave a meat or fish smoker unattended. If you are planning on leaving, protect fish and meat drying racks and smokehouses with electric fencing.
• Clean BBQ grills with a wire brush after grilling. Empty the grease trap and bring it inside after each use. If possible, store grill inside a garage or shed when not in use.
• Close and lock all doors and windows that bears could climb through.
• When leaving a remote cabin, pack out garbage. Consider boarding up the structure with thick wood with nails pointing outward, or protecting it with electrified mats or an electric fence.
• Keep your property and vehicles as clean as possible and reduce attractants. Examples of attractants include hides, bones, fish, seal oil, bird feeders, dirty barbeque grills, pet food, waste water, smokers, fish tackle, fishing nets, dry racks, petroleum or rubber products, fuel cans and garbage.

While Camping:

• Secure all food, garbage, pet food, bait, fishy clothes, line, tackle and scented items like sunscreen and toothpaste in bear-resistant containers. Most coolers are not designed to be bear-resistant. Another option is to hand items where bears can’t reach them. Do not store anything smelly or edible in your tent or in a soft-sided recreational vehicle or trailer.
• In a wilderness setting, separate your cooking, waste water and food storage areas from your sleeping area, while keeping everything in view.
• Portable electric fences may offer more protection, though fending does not substitute for a clean camp. Consider setting up an electric fence around your aircraft, ATV, snowmachine, or boat.
• Keep your belongings in your immediate control. Do not abandon your unsecured food or other attractants to bears. Bears may also be attracted to fuel cans, tents, backpacks, camp chairs, kayaks, rafts and may other human objects.
• If a bear approaches your campsite directly, assertively defend your camp by yelling, banging pots and pans or using deterrents. Stand in a group if possible and maintain your position. You goal is to have the bear leave your camp.
• If a bear returns to your camp, consider packing up and leaving the area.

While on Trails:

• Make noise by talking, singing, or clapping. This may not be necessary continuously, but is critical when visibility and hearing are limited. Do not scream or shriek, as this may startle or confuse a bear.
• Travel in a group. Groups of people are usually noisier and less likely to surprise bears. Don’t let your group get spread out. Stay in close proximity to each other so everyone is visible and can gather even closer together if a bear is encountered.
• Use all of your senses to stay aware of your surroundings. Do not wear headphones or earbuds.
• Be aware of wind direction. If the wind is at your back, it will be easier for a bear to catch your scent and avoid you.
• Slow down and be alert. This is especially important along streams and rivers (where the noise of rushing water may mask the sounds of your approach) and on blind corners and in the thick brush where you cannot see what’s ahead.
• Never approach a bear. All bears may defend their personal space, food (especially carcasses or fish) and/or offspring. Bears can be especially dangerous if they are surprised, or if they are defending a carcass or cubs. Be especially cautious in areas, such as along salmon streams, where a bear could be feeding on fish or defending a fishing spot.
• Avoid carcasses. Although a bear may not be at the carcass, it may be lingering nearby. Use all your senses to detect a carcass: if you smell something out of the ordinary, see or hear a congregation of scavenging birds, or see a large, fresh pile of dirt and other debris, you are potentially in danger and should leave the area immediately.
• Bears use trails and roads. Set up camp in open areas away from trails, streams, and other corridors where bears might travel, or where you see tracks or other signs of bears.
• Running, biking and other high-speed sports in bear country increase risk. Slow down when you approach blind curves. Avoid areas commonly travelled by by bears or where visibility is limited. Recognize your risk of encountering a bear is higher at night and at dawn or dusk. When biking in bear country, carry bear spray attached to you, not to your bike or inside your pack.