Man asleep in recycling bin narrowly avoids death

One of the country’s largest household waste collectors has called for new safety protocols after a homeless man narrowly escaped death after falling asleep in a large recycling bin.

Following the near-fatal incident, Greyhound Recycling yesterday issued the appeal for the waste-collection industry to agree on measures to check large bins.

The company’s chief executive, Michael Buckley, said a homeless man who had fallen asleep in a recycling bin narrowly escaped being crushed to death after the bin — and the man — was tipped into a rubbish compactor.

Mr Buckley praised the vigilance of one of Greyhound’s waste-collection crews which had saved the man’s life.

The homeless man is believed to have been sleeping in a large recycling bin in the Hardwick Street flats area of Dublin city centre.

“The man was tipped from the bin into the collection truck but was very fortunate that the compactor was down. We are relieved and delighted the man walked away unharmed,” Mr Buckley said.

He expressed concern that yesterday’s near-fatal accident was just the latest in a series of similar incidents in recent months.

Last August, another homeless man, Henryk Piotrowski, aged 43 and originally from Poland, died after he fell asleep in a large recycling bin.

His body was discovered when the contents of the truck were emptied at the Panda recycling facility in Ballymount, south Dublin. It is believed he died as a result of crush injuries sustained when the bin was emptied into the bin truck which was fitted with a compactor.

“An increasing number of people are putting their lives at risk by using large bins as a source of shelter and heat,” Mr Buckley said.

He called for Greyhound and other waste-collection firms to agree safety check protocols in relation to the collection of large bins.

Meanwhile, Fr Peter McVerry, a homeless campaigner, said many people are choosing to sleep rough because they feel safer on the streets than in hostels for the homeless.

In a letter to newspapers, Fr McVerry expressed concern about the number of homeless people who face difficulty in accessing social welfare payments because they don’t have a permanent address.

He complained that the official response of authorities dealing with the homeless was always “straight from the manual” but bearing little resemblance to reality.

Although homeless people are commonly reassured that they will not be refused a bed in a hostel if they have no money, the priest said they will be told to ring back several hours later if they say they can’t pay for it.

Fr McVerry said all beds were normally filled by the time such people phoned back.

“It is difficult enough being homeless without being penniless as well. To survive, they have no choice but to beg, borrow, or steal,” Fr McVerry said.