The wheelie bin in New Zealand is the same as the US huge Rubbermaid-type with two back wheels which many places use for curb-side pick-up of garbage.
23 July 2005 By LEIGH van der STOEP
An 87-year-old Browns Bay man has been left with permanent damage to his elbow and a ruptured artery after taking out his recycling wheelie bin, despite North Shore City reassurances the bins are safe for the elderly.
Tony Creasey spent a week in North Shore Hospital after falling two weeks ago while taking out the recycable waste in his new blue wheelie bin, issued by the city earlier this month.
“I had to get the bin up on the pavement and there was very little to put in it. When there’s very little to put in it, it’s very unstable. When I pushed it up on to the edge of the pavement it fell over and took me with it,” he says.
….
But North Shore City maintained the bins were safer than the old blue recycling crates.
…steps have been taken to ensure the safety of the bins and various groups such as Grey Power were consulted before the new system was launched.“As far as I’m concerned these pose less of an occupational and safety issue than carrying a heavy crate filled with glass bottles.”
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