Donation bins being altered to prevent injury

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This article was published 10/01/2019 (2530 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Following recent spate of fatalities, Canadian charities are modifying their donation bins in a effort to prevent people from becoming trapped inside the metal receptacles.

Diabetes Canada said Thursday it expects to have work on all 4,000 of its distinctive red or blue-and-white bins complete by next week, including those in Manitoba. 

Such modifications include workers using hacksaws to remove the closure flap that folds in, mailbox-style. It is designed to prevent theft of donations, but can potentially trap a person leaning in too far.

A woman was found dead inside a donation bin in Toronto this week. In Vancouver, a man was found dead inside a similar receptacle Dec. 30 — the second such death in 2018 in the city, following the body of a woman being found in July.

Eight Canadians have become fatally trapped inside metal donation drop-off bins since 2015, including four in Vancouver.

“It’s an anti-theft flap, and those flaps are being removed. The bins are just going to be left open and that creates other problems, but nobody wants anybody to be hurt.”–Rangeview Fabricating owner John Luison

In response to calls the boxes be scrapped, at least one manufacturer has said it plans a move toward a redesign of the product.

Meanwhile, Diabetes Canada announced last week it is safety-proofing all of its drop-off boxes.

“Diabetes Canada is very saddened to learn of the recent deaths… in clothing donation bins belonging to other charitable organizations… (The) bins are in the process of being retrofitted or modified in an effort to prevent injury or death to those misusing or trying to gain entry to its clothing bins,” it announced on Jan. 4.

The charity has been collection clothing donations in such unstaffed locations for more than 20 years.

“This includes Manitoba. The modifications are well underway and will be completed by Jan. 18,” a spokeswoman said by email Thursday.

Hamilton-based Ontario Rangeview Fabricating Inc. distributed videos to its clients this week on how to cut through a metal fixture that holds the bin flap in place and remove the part. Detaching the flap will leave the bins more accessible but lower the risks of injury or death.

“It’s an anti-theft flap, and those flaps are being removed. The bins are just going to be left open and that creates other problems, but nobody wants anybody to be hurt, ” Rangeview Fabricating owner John Luison said by phone.

The donation drop-off boxes are a staple for charities, providing a valuable source for warm clothing for those who need it most — a role that can’t easily be replaced.

“Every day, we see two, three, four, five design redoes. We’re working on coming up with something everybody is comfortable with. This problem will be solved,” Luison said.

Other Canadian manufacturers are picking on Rangeview’s lead, but it’s not known if similar receptacles imported from outside the country will be redesigned, too. The death in Vancouver in December involved a Rangeview-made bin.

The Union Gospel Mission in Winnipeg reported this week it will be modifying its bins in 40 locations across southern Manitoba.

“It’s very concerning, very disturbing to think that somebody could be trapped inside,” executive director Frank Ulrich told the CBC. “It turns the stomach.”

alexandra.paul@freepress.mb.ca