Homeless face death in dumpsters, Edmonton activists say

It's only a matter of time before someone dies as a result of sleeping in a dumpster, advocates for Edmonton's homelesssay.

In the past month alone, they say,there have been at least two incidents in the Alberta capital where people sleeping in dumpsters have escaped serious injury when the bins were emptied into garbage trucks.

Terry Kettleson, an adult outreach worker, says there are more people sleeping in dumpsters than the public realizes — and more accidents than are reported.

"It does happen more often," Kettleson said. "It's just that there's a lot of people that don't mention it. They don't get taken to the hospital."

In one recent case, Kettleson said, aman who suffered a broken leg after falling out of a dumpster didn't go to the hospital for some time because he didn't want to call attention to himself.

Finding shelter worth the risk

Despite the risks, homeless people such as Thomas Robillard find the improvised shelter hard to resist.

"A friend of mine last year got dumped in one," Robillard said. "And he got squashed — kind of mangled up. But he didn't get killed, though."

Kettleson believes sleeping in dumpsters is becoming more common because of increased security in buildings where homeless people used to seek shelter for the night.

The City of Edmonton requires its drivers to check bins before dumping them, but some private firms only check the bins if something looks suspicious.