By Canadian Press

Donation bins to return to Vancouver as new standards aim to prevent deaths

Oct 2, 2019 | 11:32 AM

VANCOUVER — Clothing donation bins are being allowed back on the streets of Vancouver as long as they meet a strict set of safety conditions after a series of deaths in British Columbia when people became trapped in the receptacles.

City council has approved new rules covering bins on municipal and private property.

The city says bins will be permitted if the operator has a business licence and written certification from a provincially accredited professional engineer stating the construction, design and operation of the receptacle is safe.

Operators must also regularly maintain and service the bins.

The city says bins that collect clothing and other donations help local charities, keep items out of the landfill and support Vancouver’s zero waste goal.

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The bins were removed after five deaths in B.C. since 2015, including the Dec. 30, 2018, death of a 34-year-old man in West Vancouver.

Deaths have also been reported in other Canadian cities.

Vancouver, West Vancouver, Burnaby and Richmond are among the Metro Vancouver cities that ordered donation bins removed earlier this year following the West Vancouver death and another just days later in Toronto.

Vancouver says it will launch a program to determine suitable locations for the return of donation bins on city-owned land.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 2, 2019

The Canadian Press