Rossland council agreed to pay the remaining $400 of the $2,110 lease on bear bins in downtown Rossland at the most recent council meeting on Monday night.
But Bear Aware coordinator Sharon Wieder will not be seeking funding to continue the program next year, hoping the City of Rossland will see the benefit and carry on with the bins.
“I saw them in Comox last summer and contacted the company,” she said. “We tried both the solar compactor and the recycling bins. The goal was to have the city purchase or get a long term lease. (Bear Aware) brought them in to see how they work.”
The bins only have to be emptied once per week compared to three times per week in the past.
Previous bins in Rossland were produced by the design committee rather than having any environmental component, she added.
“These are a bear deterrent. I hope the city, in light of Columbia Avenue renovations, will continue.”
The solar compacting and recycling bins are at Rossland’s post office, and in front of Best Foods and Ferraro’s.