Diabetes Canada says it will retrofit all 3,000 donation bins across Canada

By Ben Eppel, Hana Mae Nassar, and Simon Druker

WEST VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Just days after a man was found dead in a clothing donation bin in West Vancouver, Diabetes Canada is now working to retrofit all 3,000 donation bins that it has across the country.

The man’s death, the seventh of its kind, sparked an outcry from advocate Jeremy Hunka of Union Gospel Mission, who called the bins “death traps.”

This follows moves to pull or seal the steel containers amid safety concerns.

The 34-year-old man was found unconscious inside the opening of a donation bin in the district on Sunday. Inclusion B.C., which has since said it’s pulling 146 of the steel containers from use across the province until safety modifications can be made, has confirmed the bin belonged to them.

On Thursday, one of the largest manufacturers of clothing donation bins across Canada said it is open to making changes in order to prevent similar deaths from occurring in the future.

While Rangeview Fabricating Inc. wasn’t the company that produced the container in the latest death, the company’s owner has said he wants to know what went wrong in order to “make sure it doesn’t happen again on one of our models.”

Rangeview has also said it is sending instructional videos to its customers showing them how to disable a potentially-dangerous retracting door on some of its models.

Diabetes Canada would like to remind the public that they offer home pick-up of donations, and that you can visit their website or call 1-800-505-5525 to donate.

“Diabetes Canada is very saddened to learn of the death of an individual in a donation bin belonging to another charitable organization located in West Vancouver, BC,” the organization said in a statement.

“Although death or injury related to donation bins is not common, we feel that if there is an opportunity to prevent this type of tragic incident, we must make every effort to find a solution.”

The non-profit says it is working with its designer and manufacturer, and adds it is making adjustments to its donation bins in order to prevent future injury or death “as information and parts become available from the manufacturer.”

The 34-year-old man is the fifth person in B.C. to die after being lodged inside a donation bin.

-With files from Lauren Boothby and the Canadian Press

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