Clothing donation bins made safer after recent deaths

An Alberta charity has retrofitted its outdoor clothing bins to make them safer.

The Cerebral Palsy Association in Alberta, working with bin manufacturer Rangeview Fabricating Inc., updated 112 bins throughout the province. Thirty-two are located in Edmonton.

CPAA said the redesign is an effort to reduce the danger when the bins are misused. In recent months, two containers were involved in deaths in West Vancouver, B.C., and Cambridge, Ont., when people got stuck inside.

“We don’t want people getting hurt. And we want these tragedies to stop,” said Leah Ison of the CPAA.

She called the bins very important to the CPAA’s operation.

“They generate 55 to 60 per cent of our funding for our programs and services, which are important. These bins are here to help people.”

Rangeview Fabricating is based in Toronto. Last month, it stopped production of the containers involved in the B.C. and Ontario deaths.