A MAN whose body was found hanging out of a charity bin at a Central Coast shopping centre last week died while trying to scavenge for donated clothing, police say.
Police investigating the man's death have confirmed it is not being treated as suspicious after a member of the public spotted legs hanging from a clothing donation bin on Wyong Road near Westfield Tuggerah about 4.30am on Tuesday.
The man had become stuck in the chute and suffered catastrophic injuries.
"Basically it came down to he was trying to get into the bin to get to the clothing and the big metal door has come down and hit him on the back of his head and broken his neck," a police spokesman said.
But the man's death was deemed a misadventure after it became clear he was attempting to reach into the bin before his death.
The organisation behind the donation bins, SCRgroup, said they were "truly saddened" to hear of the man's death and took community safety seriously.
The practice, known as "bin surfing" or "dumpster diving", has claimed the lives of a number of people across Australia over the last decade, including two women who died in Perth and the Gold Coast in the space of a few months in 2021.
