A B.C. man is facing the prospect of a $500 fine for leaving his garbage and recycling bins out on the curb two hours too early.

Dave Deveau, a resident in Coquitlam, became a father four months ago and admitted finding time to do chores, such as taking out the garbage, can be difficult. So when his infant son drifted off to sleep early on Monday morning, he took the opportunity to put out his bins, even though it was 3:30 a.m.

"I knew that I could get to the curb for a few minutes because by morning, with feeding him and changing him and just getting him set for the day, I just didn't think it would happen," he said.

Deveau was shocked when he later discovered stickers attached to each of his bins, informing him of a “pending” $500 fine.

"It was really surprising to see the ticket at all, mostly because I was really celebrating the fact that I'd achieved getting the garbage out on garbage day, because that has not been the case for a number of weeks with the little one," he said. "It took me a while to sort of process what had gone wrong."

According to Coquitlam bylaws, residents aren't allowed to take out their bins until 5:30 a.m. on collection days in order to avoid attracting bears, cougars and other wildlife in the area. The City of Coquitlam insists the laws are necessary to protect both residents and animals.

"We have a lot of bears and other wildlife in the city that are attracted to garbage in particular and that garbage sitting unsecure on the curb overnight is the number one attractant for bears. in particular, into residential garbage," said Steffanie Warriner, manager of environment services for the City of Coquitlam. "Once a bear is habituated to garbage, it usually ends up being destroyed, and we don't want to see that in our city."

As of last week, bylaw officers had issued 339 warnings this year and 62 $500 fines. Deveau initially thought the two stickers meant he would be facing a $1000 fine, but the city has confirmed he won’t pay more than $500. He could even escape with a warning, the city said.

He revealed he intends to fight the ticket if he does receive a fine and has reached out to city staff.

With a report from CTV Vancouver’s Shannon Paterson