4 Oct 2018 James Ryan McLaren · Prevention of Future Deaths report Sunderland
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Concerns raised 4 Failure to ensure that locked bins can be opened from the inside View source Dark and unlit bin storage areas View source Quiet and isolated bin storage areas View source Failure to secure large commercial or communal domestic bins against entry View source See 1 more concern
No linked response statements No action or position from this recipient is clearly linked to the concerns in this report.
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AI-generated summary
James Ryan McLaren · Prevention of Future Deaths report
This summary was generated using AI from the published report. Please read the original report for the complete account.
Report summary
James Ryan McLaren was found deceased at a recycling site on 24 December 2017 after he was last seen leaving a nightclub and CCTV showed him walking towards an area containing large commercial waste bins. The report raises concerns about unsecured or inadequately lit bins, the risk of people sheltering inside them, and whether bins can be opened from the inside when locked.
Read the report on judiciary.uk
× Source evidence
How this individual concern was interpreted PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below. The report was sent to Chartered Institution of Wastes Management; that does not assign responsibility.
PFD Monitor interpretation Failure to ensure that locked bins can be opened from the inside
Wider context from the report “The WISH WASTE 25 – Managing access to large waste and recycling bins – contains formal guidance to prevent death or serious injury when people shelter in large commercial or communal domestic bins. This guidance was provided to the Inquest. Factors increasing the foreseeability of people gaining access and getting into the bins include, but are not limited to:
▪ the bin storage area:
• being quiet and isolated;
• being dark and unlit, especially at collection times;
▪ the bins:
• having lids that are not secured and easy to open.
I heard evidence that not all bins had lids, and that those, that did, had not been locked on 23rd December 2017. I heard that where there were locks to the bins and their lids, some had a generic lock that could be opened using a generic key, and that to unlock the bins would only take a matter of seconds, and that this would not be an onerous task for an operator to unlock the bin. I also heard that, although not in the location where James climbed into the bin, some customers fitted combination locks to bins with a code shared on a manifest for the collection vehicle. It is not known whether, once a bin is locked, it can be opened from the inside, and this is also a concern. This is particularly relevant with the nights becoming colder and darker, and the potential for people to seek refuge in bins due to the elements or for any other reason.
” Open source report × Source evidence
How this individual concern was interpreted PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below. The report was sent to Chartered Institution of Wastes Management; that does not assign responsibility.
PFD Monitor interpretation Dark and unlit bin storage areas
Wider context from the report “The WISH WASTE 25 – Managing access to large waste and recycling bins – contains formal guidance to prevent death or serious injury when people shelter in large commercial or communal domestic bins. This guidance was provided to the Inquest. Factors increasing the foreseeability of people gaining access and getting into the bins include, but are not limited to:
▪ the bin storage area:
• being quiet and isolated;
• being dark and unlit, especially at collection times;
▪ the bins:
• having lids that are not secured and easy to open.
I heard evidence that not all bins had lids, and that those, that did, had not been locked on 23rd December 2017. I heard that where there were locks to the bins and their lids, some had a generic lock that could be opened using a generic key, and that to unlock the bins would only take a matter of seconds, and that this would not be an onerous task for an operator to unlock the bin. I also heard that, although not in the location where James climbed into the bin, some customers fitted combination locks to bins with a code shared on a manifest for the collection vehicle. It is not known whether, once a bin is locked, it can be opened from the inside, and this is also a concern. This is particularly relevant with the nights becoming colder and darker , and the potential for people to seek refuge in bins due to the elements or for any other reason.
” Open source report × Source evidence
How this individual concern was interpreted PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below. The report was sent to Chartered Institution of Wastes Management; that does not assign responsibility.
PFD Monitor interpretation Quiet and isolated bin storage areas
Wider context from the report “The WISH WASTE 25 – Managing access to large waste and recycling bins – contains formal guidance to prevent death or serious injury when people shelter in large commercial or communal domestic bins. This guidance was provided to the Inquest. Factors increasing the foreseeability of people gaining access and getting into the bins include, but are not limited to:
▪ the bin storage area:
• being quiet and isolated;
• being dark and unlit, especially at collection times;
▪ the bins:
• having lids that are not secured and easy to open.
I heard evidence that not all bins had lids, and that those, that did, had not been locked on 23rd December 2017. I heard that where there were locks to the bins and their lids, some had a generic lock that could be opened using a generic key, and that to unlock the bins would only take a matter of seconds, and that this would not be an onerous task for an operator to unlock the bin. I also heard that, although not in the location where James climbed into the bin, some customers fitted combination locks to bins with a code shared on a manifest for the collection vehicle. It is not known whether, once a bin is locked, it can be opened from the inside, and this is also a concern. This is particularly relevant with the nights becoming colder and darker, and the potential for people to seek refuge in bins due to the elements or for any other reason.
” Open source report × Source evidence
How this individual concern was interpreted PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below. The report was sent to Chartered Institution of Wastes Management; that does not assign responsibility.
PFD Monitor interpretation Failure to secure large commercial or communal domestic bins against entry
Wider context from the report “The WISH WASTE 25 – Managing access to large waste and recycling bins – contains formal guidance to prevent death or serious injury when people shelter in large commercial or communal domestic bins. This guidance was provided to the Inquest. Factors increasing the foreseeability of people gaining access and getting into the bins include, but are not limited to:
▪ the bin storage area:
• being quiet and isolated;
• being dark and unlit, especially at collection times;
▪ the bins:
• having lids that are not secured and easy to open.
I heard evidence that not all bins had lids, and that those, that did, had not been locked on 23rd December 2017. I heard that where there were locks to the bins and their lids, some had a generic lock that could be opened using a generic key , and that to unlock the bins would only take a matter of seconds , and that this would not be an onerous task for an operator to unlock the bin. I also heard that, although not in the location where James climbed into the bin, some customers fitted combination locks to bins with a code shared on a manifest for the collection vehicle. It is not known whether, once a bin is locked, it can be opened from the inside, and this is also a concern. This is particularly relevant with the nights becoming colder and darker, and the potential for people to seek refuge in bins due to the elements or for any other reason.
” Open source report
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Information checked against published PFD reports and official responses · Data reviewed 7 Sep 2026 · About data quality and limitations