If part of what your dumpster contains is food waste, you will need to take steps to deter animal scavengers from getting into it.
Loss of habitat has made some wild animals more brazen about using our trash as a buffet. In the Sacramento area, some of the most likely invaders of our dumpster enclosure gates include seagulls, raccoons, rats and opossums. Sometimes stray or domestic dogs and cats can also be a problem.
Invasion by these creatures is more than an annoyance; they can sometimes do damage to your facilities and can even pose a safety hazard as disease carriers/
There are a number of things you can do to keep these creatures out of your dumpster.
- Make sure your dumpster stays covered. It seems elementary, but allowing easy access to your dumpster’s contents is like handing out invitations. Make sure the lids work and fit; plastic lids are notoriously easy for animals to open. Bungee cords can help secure them. Make sure your employees close them properly after putting trash into them.
- Keep the area around the dumpster clean. Trash bags should be securely sealed and tied before they are carried out so nothing spills around the dumpster.
- Keep the dumpster clean by spraying around it. Hose down the insides occasionally as well.
- Don’t give intruders something to climb up on. You may need to relocate your dumpster away from a wall, building or tree, so that animals can’t climb up and gain access.
- Install a dumpster enclosure gate. Not all dumpster enclosures are the same, so look for those types that have little ground clearance that will help keep animals – and the occasional human dumpster diver –out. Of course, some animals can leap or climb, so you will still need to maintain securely sealed dumpster lids inside the dumpster enclosure gate.