West Van seals clothing donation bins
Public safety is our main concern, authorities say after man was trapped and died
West Vancouver has sealed clothing donation bins on public and private property after a man died on the weekend, and Vancouver may be poised to take similar action.
West Vancouver has ordered all clothing donation bins to be closed and district staff have placed metal straps on bins on both public and private property to stop people from using them.
A 34-year-old man died Sunday in a Community Living Society bin in West Vancouver. Last July, a woman died in a Developmental Disabilities Association bin in Vancouver.
The City of Vancouver started to remove donation bins on public streets last summer, but some have turned up on private land.
About 90 per cent of the bins on street right-of-ways have been removed, as well as bins at community centres, park board facilities and Vancouver school board facilities, according to the city.
The city will review the status of remaining bins on private lands this year, according to a statement.
Coun. Sarah Kirby-Yung will make a motion at the next meeting of council on Jan. 15 that would ban clothing donation bins everywhere in the city.
“I think there is more we need to do,” she said. “There are still bins on city lands and firehalls. Until there is a design alternative, we can’t afford any more tragedies.”
“I’d like the city to look at any bylaw changes we can make to prohibit these bins in the City of Vancouver until we have better safety mechanisms so people can’t get trapped or climb inside or put themselves in harm’s way,” she said.
West Vancouver is seeking the removal of the bins until they can be made “more secure.”
After the most recent death, senior staff decided to take action to prevent any further tragedies, said district spokeswoman Donna Powers.
In consultation with district councillors, staff began to contact bin owners to have them closed, and then sealed every bin they could find in the interim.
“Because we couldn’t immediately contact all the charities, we made a decision to go ahead and close them,” she said. “We will work with (the owners) to find out what might work in the future, but right now, public safety is a our main concern.”
The district is warning people not to leave their donations outside the bins, and urged people to arrange home pickup of useful items or to take their donations to the local Salvation Army Thrift Store. West Vancouver sealed about a dozen bins, but several thousand more are still functional across Metro Vancouver. At least two other people have died in donation bins in Pitt Meadows and Surrey since 2015.
Surrey does not allow bins on public property, but there are eight donation bins for the Surrey Fire Fighters’ Charitable Society at fully staffed firehalls.
The 15 community groups that participate in the Inclusion B.C. clothes drop program were to meet Thursday afternoon to decide how to respond to the latest death and the actions of municipalities where bins are located, according to executive director Karla Verschoor.
The man who died in Ambleside Park this weekend was trapped in a Community Living Society bin, an Inclusion B.C. member organization.
A statement on their collective strategy is expected by Friday morning.