Food Waste and Polar Bears

Earlier this year, a team of scientists, including two from Polar Bears International, published a study outlining the risks of human food waste on polar bears. Historically, this was only a problem for bears living in seasonal ice areas—more southerly parts of the Arctic where the sea ice melts each summer, forcing the bears ashore. But as temperatures rise in the Arctic and the sea ice melt has become more pervasive, many communities are experiencing encounters with polar bears for the first time.

“Being proactive in managing food waste and reducing food attractants are critical steps in reducing conflict and helping polar bears and people coexist,” says Geoff York, senior director of conservation at Polar Bears International and one of the study’s coauthors. 

The researchers looked at case studies from a range of places across the Arctic—from Russia’s Wrangel Island to Svalbard to northern Alaska—and discovered a number of risks associated with food waste. Not only is it harmful to polar bears–often leading to ingested plastics and toxins–it can attract hungry bears and become a flashpoint for human-bear conflict.

“We know that when bears become habituated and learn to seek out human food, it often ends in tragedy for either the bears or people,” said York. “Just as communities living with brown and black bears have learned to reduce food attractants to coexist with their bears, we need to take measures now to keep polar bears on land from associating camps, cabins, or communities as valuable food sources.”

York adds that, left unaddressed, problems can become chronic, as bears will remember where they found food and continue to return over time. Once bears are conditioned to a food source, the problem is harder to manage, and more dangerous for everyone involved. In some cases, an influx of bears can occur rapidly, as seen in cases like the invasion of 52 polar bears in Belushya Guba, Russia, several years ago. There, the bears were drawn to an open dump, with some entering the village proper.

The study’s authors noted that waste management solutions will be unique to each region and community, but may include both hard and electric fencing, incineration, cap and fill where feasible, landfill monitoring, bear-resistant waste cans, and increased access to deterrence and hazing tools/training.

Dr. Tom Smith of Brigham Young University, the paper’s lead author said that, “Securing food waste in polar bear country is one thing we can do right now to make a positive difference for both polar bears and humans. The report shows the great opportunity we have to protect the polar bears we do have, and get ahead of an issue we expect to worsen due to climate change.”

Polar Bears International is working proactively on this issue by supporting the efforts of Churchill, Canada, to explore sustainable waste-management options and by purchasing bear-resistant waste containers for the town as part of its Bear Safe Community initiative—modeling approaches that can be used or adapted by communities elsewhere. Also in the works is a polar bear safety video on best practices for visitors and residents across bear country, complementing the series of bear safety coloring books produced for children in northern communities.

Lead image caption: Before the town of Churchill closed its dump in 2005, polar bears regularly scavenged for food there, with some habituated bears venturing into town in search of food, damaging property and becoming a public safety issue. Churchill now stores its refuse in a secure facility and uses bear-resistant bins to collect household waste.