TALKIN' TRASH IN THE VALLEY

 

Following the recent killing of a "problem bear" in Teller County (see the recent PVPOA yahoo! group post) and a PV Clean Up Day in June with a very full dumpster, many requests to dump and a LOT of trash by the roads this spring and summer, we have prepared some tips that will help keep our Valley clean and safe for the wildlife and people who share it.  Please share this list via email, mail or putting a copy in your PV home with everyone who uses your home.  When you meet someone new who is renting, visiting or just bought their PV home, offer to share the list with them, too!  It is also posted on our site:  http://placervalley.org.

~ DO NOT feed the bears!  Do not taunt the bears with delicious odors... compost, hummingbird feeders, dog food...

~ Bring in your bird feeders and do not put seed out later in the day.

~ Burn your propane grill on high for 10 minutes after you are finished cooking.  It burns off the oil and grease that will smell yummy to a bear.

~ Don't store anything smelly (including compost, trash, pet food and bird seed) outside.  It will not only attract bears, but other wildlife, as well!

~ If you cannot keep your trash container inside, secure it so that a bear can't get into it.  Many large trash cans are labeled "bear proof," but it appears from experience in this Valley that the bears did not get that notice.  And the damage a bear will do to get to your trash is not limited to the lid of your trash can.  One Valley resident reported that a bear broke through the door of his shed to chow on the compost inside.

~ If you "pack it in," you must "pack it out."  That includes things like eating your picnic over a towel, bag, or blanket and then carefully rolling it up so that you do not leave tasty crumbs for the critters.  But it also includes things like taking all of your trash and recycling with you when you leave the Valley after your weekend visit or vacation.  Unless you have an account with Mountain View Waste [(303) 838-0560 - As of June 2006: $28/month], trash you leave anywhere in the Valley will be destroyed by wildlife before it is eventually cleared from the roads and woods by a Valley resident.  Placer Valley owners, renters and guests do not have permission to use the dumpster at Alma Town Hall.  If you do have arrangement with Mountain View Waste, you must put ALL of your trash in your bear proof trash can, do not put bags or piles of trash next to it on the road!  Besides putting it out the morning of pickup (Thursday), your can should also be secured again before nightfall. 

~ You may also pay to dump in Fairplay at the Waste Transfer Station (aka the dump), which is just north of the Fire Station.

Recycling centers are in Breckenridge and Frisco.  In Breckenridge, turn East at the 7-11 on CO9 and left after the ambulance barn.  In Frisco, turn SouthWest off CO9 when you see the Fire Station (before Main Street).  The recycling center is just north of the Fire Station.  You may recycle things there like:  soda and water bottles (empty, no cap or label), glass, milk jugs (fully rinsed with no cap), steel and tin cans (rinsed with no label and crushed, if possible), cardboard and paperboard (flattened), alkaline and non-alkaline batteries, newspaper and office paper.  Please do not leave any trash, including shopping bags (which you may recycle at WalMart in Frisco) at the recycling center. 

~ If all of us, all of our guests and our renters follow these basic guidelines, we can help keep our Valley clean for ourselves and for the true residents, the animals!