Residential Bear Bins

Bear Bins have proven to be an effective, safe and convenient method of allowing seasonal and permanent residents to participate in the Curbside Garbage and Recycling Program. 

Bear Bins are steel constructed garbage receptacles, that are generally placed at the end of a driveway, to not interfere with the road, maintenance, or snowplowing. These bins vary in size, but are generally not longer than 6' or wider than 3'. They are all about 30" high, and generally have two steel lids that can lock. 

Following are a few tips to further enhance the effectiveness of the program: 

1. Ensure the location of the bin is approved by the Waste Contractor and the Township of North Kawartha.
2. If not already equipped, install 2 flags for the contractor. One for garbage (green) and one for recycling (blue). This will allow recycling to be collected from the bin. If you have an earlier model bin, that did not come equipped with 2 flags you may either request one from your bin manufacturer, or fasten a homemade flag to your bin. The flags tell the drivers that there is either garbage or recycling inside, so that they will stop and collect. There are numerous bins throughout the Township that aren’t necessarily used each week; therefore, stopping, unlocking, and checking a bin that is empty, is not an efficient use of time, hence the flag system. If there is not enough room inside the bin for the blue boxes, they can be left outside the bin, in which case a recycling flag is unnecessary.  
3. Recycling is unlimited, however must be separated into 2 streams (containers and fibres).
4. As with all Township Curbside collection, residents are permitted 1 garbage bag without a bag tag sticker, and up to 2 additional bags with bag tag stickers affixed.
5. You can exchange the 20 punch holes on your Waste Site Pass for bag tag stickers, at the Transfer Stations or the Municipal Office. These punch holes are located on the bottom of each Waste Site Pass tear-off end, and have 10 punch holes per side.
6. Share the bin. When sharing, make sure all the addresses using the bin are recorded on the underside of the bin lid.  This notifies the collector the number of bags he/she can collect without bag tags.
7. Lock your bin. Lock and keys are available through the Township of North Kawartha by calling 705-656-3619 or click here to email.
8. Keep Your Bin Clean. Make sure there is no loose garbage in the bottom of your bin and clean the bin out every spring with a bleach/water solution. This will not only reduce the attraction of unwanted animals (bears) and/or insects (wasps), it will also reduce unpleasant odours for those neighbours out on a leisurely stroll.
9. If the Contractor (Waste Connections) misses picking up your garbage, please contact Waste Connections directly at 705-742-4268. Reporting without delay will ensure that any concerns are addressed as they occur, through the use of Waste Connections' very sophisticated GPS tracking system. 
10. If the Contractor (Emterra Environmental) misses emptying your recycling blue box, please contact Emterra directly at 1-888-597-1541. Reporting without delay will ensure that any concerns are addressed as they occur, through the use of Emterra's very sophisticated GPS tracking system.
11. If you missed your garbage or recycling collection, you may put a bag tag on the garbage bag and take it to the nearest Transfer Station, or put it out at your next collection day. Blue box recycling does not require bag tags.

Thank you for your co-operation in making this program a success.