Bear-Resistant Garbage Container Rollout Progressing in Whitefish

An estimated 10 to 15 percent of Whitefish residences have received new bear-resistant garbage containers as part of the city’s ongoing rollout that began about three weeks ago, according to Public Works Director Craig Workman.

The containers are being distributed by Republic Services, which is the waste disposal company the city contracts with for waste pickup and removal. Portions of the city have been divided into delivery zones, and the new containers are being distributed in a roughly counter-clockwise route going from the northwest to the southwest to the southeast to the northeast.

 “We started really, kind of in the northwest part of the city, so everything north of the viaduct and west of Wisconsin, knowing that as we come into hibernation season and they’re really trying to fill up, they (bears) tend to come down the mountain and follow the lake to the river. We’re sort of following that same path with our rollout,” Workman said.

The rollout hasn’t been without issue, and Workman characterized the first week as “a little bumpy.” The plan was for people to have their old containers swapped out for a new bear-resistant container on trash pickup day, but Workman said he thinks that staffing issues with Republic Services led to some deviations from the original plan. In some cases residents received a resistant container the day before trash pickup, leaving them with multiple trash containers. In other instances people did not get their new containers when they were expecting them.

“We’re working through some issues with Republic, and asking folks to have a little patience,” Workman said.

At a Sept. 19 Whitefish City Council meeting, City Manager Dana Smith also acknowledged that there have been issues with the bear-resistant container rollout and asked for people to be patient with city utility billing staff.

“They are doing the best they can. We are not getting responses very quickly from Republic,” she said.  

While there isn’t a firm end date for the rollout, Workman said the goal is to have the entirety of the new containers distributed before the end of the year, and that he’s optimistic that goal can be achieved “a lot sooner.”

He noted that the timeline is also influenced by the fact that Republic is getting the containers delivered from bear resistant container manufacturer Kodiak Products. The rollout started once Republic had about 1,000 of the containers on hand to distribute in Whitefish.

The rate increase people will see on their monthly garbage pickup bill won’t appear until a residence has received its bear-resistant container, according to Workman.

The Whitefish City Council voted by a 5-to-1 margin in June to increase monthly garbage pickup rates by $6.47 for once a week pickup, bringing monthly bills for once weekly pickup to $17.25.  That increase is mostly driven by the increased cost of pickup for the 95-gallon bear-resistant containers, but the city also added a $1.50 administrative fee to cover what were described as increased costs of administrative services, including utility billings software.

A Bear Fair event is in the works for Oct. 8 in Whitefish at Depot Park from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Smith said people who attend will have a chance to learn more about the bear-resistant containers, and meet with city staff, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks staff, Republic Services staff, and Kodiak Products representatives. Bear dogs will also be there for demonstrations and there will be a chance for people to learn how to use bear spray.

Smith said she talked to FWP Bear Management Specialist Justine Vallieres, and that while Columbia Falls is dealing with more bear issues right now than Whitefish, carrying bear spray in town isn’t a bad thing.

“Scaring the bears away if they are trying to access garbage cans right now is really important. Banging pots and pans, she said, whatever you can do, yelling at them, clapping at them,” Smith said. “We’re lucky because Whitefish has more of a black bear population, than grizzly population, which is what Columbia Falls is facing right now.”

 More information on the bear-resistant container rollout can be found here.