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Delta School District to seal up donation bins after deaths in Toronto and West Van

The school district says it will remove all bins once it consults with vendors
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A man tries to retrieve items from a clothing donation bin in Vancouver. The Delta School District has sealed up all similar bins located on its property and will be removing them after talking to vendors. (The Canadian Press photo)

The Delta School District is taking all clothing donation bins located on school grounds out of commission following two recent deaths in West Vancouver and Toronto.

On Dec. 30, 2018, a man died in West Vancouver after he tried to climb into a donation bin and got stuck. Then early on Jan. 8, a woman in Toronto died in much the same way, prompting a nation-wide conversation on the safety of the apparatus.

School district spokesperson Jen Hill said all bins will be sealed up this week and over the weekend, and then removed from schools as soon as consultations with vendors are conducted. She added the move was proactive to ensure no one tries to climb into one, potentially putting their lives in danger. However, she said there have been no incidents involving the bins on district property as of yet.

“That is us taking the safety of our students and our staff, as well as our community, seriously,” Hill said. “Knowing that they can be hazards should somebody attempt to climb inside, we want to make sure we’re being proactive and remediating that as a risk.”



sasha.lakic@northdeltareporter.com

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