Windsor mom concerned autistic son could be locked in new green bin
Waste diversion official says, in rare cases, people may want to remove the lock mechanism
Carole Vernon says her four-year-old son has been known to hide in small spaces.
The Windsor, Ont., woman is concerned about his safety after her family had an organics green bin dropped off to her Riverside home last week.
The 120-litre containers are hitting curbsides at 120,000 households over the next several weeks — in advance of compost collection starting in October.
Roughly 2,000 bins are currently being dropped off each day. Kits are being sent to homes in Essex, Lakeshore, LaSalle, Tecumseh, and Windsor. The second phase of the program is set for Amherstburg, Kingsville and Leamington next year.
"I noticed that [if] you turn the little switch to open it, it locks when it closes," said Vernon.
"I've found him in cupboards in the kitchen, or in the hall closet sometimes. [It] was a bit of an alarm for me because if you have a refrigerator outside, they have you take the door off it … so that a child can't climb into it."
Since the bins won't be used until October, Vernon says her family's bin is sitting upside down in her backyard — so the gravity lock won't engage.
Vernon also says she has the container wedged between two things, making it more difficult to tip it right side up.
"I don't think it's necessarily a design flaw to the point that it's got to be changed or something. I think it's more just awareness needs to be made, because if you don't realize it's possible, it's one of those things where you might not notice until it's too late."
The gravity locks are meant to keep animals from snacking on the scraps.
"Obviously, we can't have raccoons and rats just reaching in there and grabbing stuff out, so the lock has a purpose."
According to Vernon, the new curbside program is a long time coming and "amazing" for the environment, to keep organic waste out of landfills.
However, she says the bins need to come with clearly marked warning labels, highlighting the locks.
She says having a child on the spectrum has opened her eyes to new dangers.
"It's certainly not as dangerous as a swimming pool that doesn't have a fence around it, but it could lead to somebody being harmed if they don't know that it's a possibility."
Emergency release mechanism
Cathy Copot-Nepszy says she understands people assessing the risk of anything new that comes to their house.
It's for that reason the manager of waste diversion at the Essex-Windsor Solid Waste Authority says the bin has a built-in emergency release mechanism on the inside of the lid.
"If someone were to raise their lid, they'd be able to see that it's a metal portion that, if it's pushed in, it would release the lock and allow someone to open the lid," she said.
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According to Copot-Nepszy, it might make more sense for the Vernon family to remove the lock completely.
"Definitely an isolated concern ... rare but legitimate. The locks are installed with a bunch of screws, so they could … be removed that way. I think in a special circumstance like this, we would even be willing to come out and assist if that's needed, because ultimately we do want people to use the bins."
Roughly 1.5 million similar bins with locks are in use in Ontario, Copot-Nepszy says, in places such as Toronto, Peel Region, Peterborough and Brantford — with more on the way in Thunder Bay and Waterloo.
"They've been successful for the majority of households, but in this case, maybe you have that rare instance that it's just not appropriate for that household."
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