Donation bins sealed, removed in British Columbia after death of trapped man

Jan 5, 2019 | 11:45 AM

VANCOUVER — A municipality and a non-profit foundation in British Columbia are shutting down clothing donation bins and looking at options to either make them more secure or remove them following the recent death of a man.

The District of West Vancouver says it is closing the bins in the community to ensure another tragedy doesn’t happen again.

A 34-year-old Vancouver man was found stuck in the opening of a donation bin near Ambleside Park in West Vancouver on Sunday and he couldn’t be revived by paramedics.

Inclusion BC says the non-profit foundation and its member agencies have decided to remove 146 bins that are in place in different parts of the province.

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The agency says all the bins should be removed by early next week and will be stored until safety modifications can be made.

At least seven people have died in donation bins in Canada since 2015, with five of those deaths in British Columbia.

Jeremy Hunka of Union Gospel Mission in Vancouver called them “death traps” this week and demanded their immediate removal or an overhaul that would make them safer.

Inclusion BC says it asked the University of British Columbia’s department of mechanical engineering to work with its bin manufacturer last year to design a receptacle that would address safety issues. Students involved in the school’s Capstone Project Course have made safety modifications that are in the prototype phase.

The agency says it will still accept clothing donations at indoor monitored collection sites.

In West Vancouver, a notice on the municipality’s website directs people to take their donations to a Salvation Army thrift store or contact one of several groups able to pick up donated goods from their homes.

Prof. Ray Taheri of the school of engineering at the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus said Wednesday removing an estimated 2,000 bins just in B.C. may cost up to $1 million and that would cause storage problems.

The Canadian Press