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A man who fell asleep in a bin narrowly avoided be recycled.

Ivan Rosalio Mendez Perez had was collected at the side of the road by a rubbish truck.

The 23-year-old tried to get the driver's attention by shouting and throwing cardboard out the back of the vehicle, the Albany Deomcrat-Herald reports.

But his attempts to raise the alarm were in vain, and he was "compacted several times," according to police.

Captain Eric Carter from the Albany Police Department in Oregon said: “The driver became aware of it at Big 5 Sporting Goods because the subject was throwing cardboard out of the truck."

"He got out to look and heard Mr. Perez yelling, so he contacted us. Albany Fire also responded to remove Mr. Perez from the truck.”

Perez was taken to a near-by hospital with a fractured leg.

He was described as being in a "good condition".

This isn't the first time a bin-related accident has happened, Carter said.

The body of Gordon Gene Lemke, 50, was found among a pile of cardboard at a waste sorting station five years ago.

He had been sleeping rough at the time.

Carter added: "Do not play in (dumpsters), do not go into them, do not seek shelter in them, do not sleep in them. Those drivers don’t know.”