Donation bin deaths spur changes by manufacturer

Hamilton company plans new design after two recent deaths linked to bins it had produced

Tragic entrapment deaths in three Canadian cities have prompted a Hamilton donation bin manufacturer to stop making mailbox-style containers while at least one charity is now “retrofitting” local bins.

Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger is also urging other local charities to “investigate and review” the safety of their own bins — but so far, the city is not planning the type of licensing or enforcement actions now under consideration in other communities.

A woman and two men have been found dead in the last three months after becoming trapped in donation boxes in Toronto, Vancouver and Cambridge. Toronto Mayor John Tory has asked for a licensing study of bin safety and sites, while West Vancouver temporarily locked bins in its area.

Donation bins are historically popular in Hamilton — several years ago, there were close to 70 across the city — but police and emergency services officials told The Spectator they have no record of a fatality or even recent calls for service related to someone becoming trapped in such a box.

Council considered but rejected the idea of licensing such bins in 2012.

The largest user of mailbox-style donation bins in the city, Diabetes Canada, is already “retrofitting” 20-plus boxes in the Hamilton area “in an effort to prevent injury or death to those misusing or trying to gain entry to its clothing donation bins,” said spokesperson Kathleen Powderley.

The association hopes to modify all of its 4,000-plus bins across Canada by Jan. 18. Powderley said donors can continue to use the bins, which will be modified on-site.

Rangeview Fabricating, which is located on Brampton Street, made at least two of the bins involved in the recent entrapment deaths.

It announced Tuesday it would stop manufacturing “rolling chute” boxes, similar to large mailboxes, while it searches for a new design. The company has posted videos showing bin owners how to remove potentially dangerous “pinch points” in the boxes.

While Hamilton emergency service officials could not recall an instance of someone getting stuck in a bin locally, people do end up inside occasionally.

Paul de Kort said a man was once found sleeping inside one of his company’s Clothing for Charity bins in the mall parking lot at the corner of Dundurn and Main streets.

That bin was actually removed recently at the request of the property manager, said de Kort, because people were trying to get inside and spreading a “big mess” of plundered donations all over the area. “It’s a shame, because we divert a lot of clothing from the landfill,” he said.

De Kort’s company, which partners with charities to collect clothing, has other bins in the city and he said he’s not worried about the safety of potential surprise visitors. He said his bins do not have theft-prevention doors or mailbox chutes. “It’s just a hole … If you get in, I think you can get out,” he said.

Local shelter operators say homeless clients do not talk about the bins as emergency shelter and suggested instead they are viewed as a source of warm or replacement clothing. Some charities use or distribute the donated clothing, but much of it is sold to thrift stores to help fund programming.

The deaths are a reminder society needs to do a better job caring for its most vulnerable citizens, said Tom Cooper, who heads the Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction.

“As people fall deeper into poverty and don’t have access to resources to meet basic needs — housing, food, medication — desperation will lead to tragedy for some,” he said.