Man who fell asleep in cardboard recycling cage was desperate not to miss work

Cropped shot of a male worker on garbage day

Hamilton's Good George brewery says the young man who had a brush with death in a recycling truck this morning was one of its staffers who had a big night and was desperate not to miss his shift.

Company director Darrel Hadley told the Hamilton News the 25-year-old had had been sent home to get some rest and was likely to be unaware of the unfolding drama which had erupted in the media.

"He was one of ours but I have been unable to comment because the details were sketchy. The situation was he arrived for work and had been out and about in town and rather than missing his shift he has decided to have a kip."

Mr Hadley said it was natural to link the bar to drunken behaviour but "this was just a silly choice on behalf of the individual".

The bar was closed last night, he said.

"He's not working today he got told politely to have the day off and is probably having a sleep unaware of the attention he is getting."

Mr Hadley said the staff member works part-time as a kitchen hand in the bar.

"The employee had fronted rather sheepishly for work late this morning and was sent home. The team decided he looked like he needed a decent sleep and a shower. Early indications are that he had a late night out in town and a friends place and rather than go home and risk missing his morning start time he decided to come to work early. With the premises locked up he made the foolish decision to have a sleep in the recycling bin on the neighbouring property."

Mr Hadley said he hasn't spoken to him since he was asked to go home but intends to meet with him again and chat further about it and the choices he'd made.

"While I admire his forward thinking and commitment to fronting at work I think his choice of bedding leaves a lot to be desired".

Initially upset with the employee Mr Hadley is now just relieved the quick thinking of the driver averted a tragic situation and his employee was unhurt.

He doesn't intend to turn the incident into a disciplinary/employment matter on the basis that it didn't actually happen at work and he thinks the shock of the experience would probably be lesson enough for anyone.

The incident happened in the alleyway behind the brewery and not on its licensed premises - which had been closed since 5pm the previous day - which were gated and locked.

The employee involved had not been drinking alcohol on the premises at all that day.

Truck driver heard banging

Hamilton Fire Service senior station officer Steve McSweeney said a recycling truck driver had picked up and emptied the cage into his truck outside Good George Brewery on Somerset St this morning.

The driver was about to compact the load when he heard banging coming from inside his truck.

A source said the man did not wake up until he was almost at arm's length of the blade inside the truck.

Mr McSweeney said they were called to help rescue the 25-year-old man about 5am today. "We got there and just a bit down the alleyway we saw a bloke that was in the recycling truck."

He said the truck driver was up the top of the truck, looking down at the trapped man. "He was just standing in the bottom of the truck and couldn't get out."

Mr McSweeney said the truck driver told them he had picked up the cage and emptied it into his recycling truck, and placed the cage back down before slowly driving off to get the next cage.

"The driver was going down the alleyway to pick up another one and he heard this banging from the inside of his bin and was about to press the button to squash the load and thought 'that's odd'.

"He opened up the lid, on the top of his truck, and there was a guy standing there."

Mr McSweeney said the man was "lucky not to have been squashed".

He couldn't confirm if the man was drunk or not, but he was very sheepish when asked how he came to be inside the recycling bin. "He's hurt his pride more than anything."

When asked if the man said anything, Mr McSweeney said he was a bit coy. "He was very quiet, very sheepish."

The man climbed out of bin using the Fire Service extension ladder. "It wouldn't have been nice that one - he can thank his lucky stars."

Waikato police spokesman Andrew McAlley said local WorkSafe staff had been told about the incident. He said officers attended the "near miss" at a Hamilton bar but could not comment any further. "It was a near miss and WorkSafe local staff have been briefed," he told NZME News Service.

The rubbish truck was operated by EnviroWaste and the recycling cage is owned by Fullcircle Recycling. A spokeswoman for the company, Stephanie Mackie, said she had been informed about the incident but could not comment because the full details were not clear.

An EnviroWaste employee said chief executive officer Gary Saunders was not able to comment.

A WorkSafe spokesman said the organisation was not investigating the incident further.

He said police advised WorkSafe that a young man had been very lucky to escape injury after apparently falling asleep in a cardboard recycling cage in the early hours of the morning.

The incident was a "timely reminder" to consider processes to prevent members of the public from accessing bins, or to check bins before loading, he said.

"It is also a good reminder to all that recycling bins are not a good place to sleep it off.

"Fortunately, the recycling contractor heard the young man's cries as the cardboard was tipped into a crusher and stopped work immediately."