some good advice here,
dont play dead with black bears,
and forget about a compost bin if there are black bears in your area.
(my neighbour found a bear sleeping in his compost pile, I guess it was warm)

Ive come across a number of bears, over many years of hiking, even one
maybe 8 feet away on the other side of the road, in general theyve never been a problem, if you ignore them and give them space.

Ironically though, even though grizzlies are the ones more likely to attack, the worst recorded bear attack in North America was in 1980 Ontario, when a black bear killed 5 teenage campers.

one final word of advice from conservation officers, is if it looks like the bear is following you and is intent on attacking, you should not try to ignore it, or play dead. You should do whatever you can to get away or defend yourself.