Wildlife Protection

It is the property owner's/tenant's responsibility to ensure waste containers are a certified bear resistant container.  Pitkin County strongly encourages steel bear resistant waste containers.  However, polyurethane/plastic trash containers that have been certified by the Living with Wildlife Foundation's (LWWF) with a "Three Star" rating are acceptable.  Your waste removal service may charge an additional fee to provide such a container and one can be purchased locally or via internet sources as well.

Please reference the links below to find a bear resistant container:

• Living with Wildlife Foundation's product testing results' Three-Star rated products.  Note, only Three-Star rated products are approved for use in Pitkin County.
• Pitkin County's joint resource list for the trash container providers.  Note that some but not all of the trash containers models provided by these manufacturers meet the LWWF Three-Star certification.

Highlights of the Wildlife Ordinance:

• All refuse must be stored in containers which make it inaccessible to wildlife.
• All containers must be kept closed and secure except when waste is being deposited.
• If the container is damaged or not working properly, the responsible party must repair or replace the container within 48hours of written notification.
• Non-compliant citizens are subject to the following Penalty Assessments:

 DOCUMENTS:

To view the wildlife ordinance, click here.

If you have any questions, please contact us at (970) 429-2884 or richard.ludwig@co.pitkin.co.us