Police say a 22-year-old man has been killed trying to ride a wheelie bin down a hill on the New South Wales central coast.

Officers say the man was lying on the bin with a 19-year-old on top of him when they hit a gutter at Umina Beach overnight.

He was thrown into a tree and died of massive head injuries.

The other man has been taken to hospital with broken ribs and internal injuries.

"They travelled a distance of about 300 metres before they lost control and collided with the curb," said Acting Police Inspector Bruce Coates.

"Both people were thrown from the bin. The 22-year-old man struck his head on a tree.

"Friends and witnesses tried to assist with life support at the scene. However, he was pronounced deceased at Gosford Hospital."

Inspector Coates says they were part of a group that was riding stolen wheelie bins at Umina Beach.

"A group of young people just decided they would take some rubbish bins and have a bit of a ride down this hill," he said.

"This was the second bin to travel down on the night. A gentlemen went down on a bin by himself immediately prior to this and he made the ride without being injured."

Inspector Coates say the man who died had been drinking.

"This is something that perhaps could have been avoided, young people doing something they shouldn't have been doing," he said.

"It is a tragedy. It's a terrible thing for the families and the people involved. Obviously riding rubbish bins down public streets is not something you should be doing."