Homeless man sleeping in skip bin 'lucky to be alive' after being dumped in garbage bin

Authorities say a man is lucky to be alive after being dumped in a rubbish truck. Photo / Supplied

A man is lucky to be alive after falling asleep in a skip bin that was dumped into a rubbish truck with him inside on Friday morning.

Rescue authorities described the bizarre situation as a "first for us" and claimed the outcome could have been very different if the driver had compacted the garbage.

"He is absolutely lucky to be alive, he could have been knocked out, he would've been squashed no doubt," Kerang Country Fire Authority captain Ramon Steel told news.com.au.

The man, who is believed to be homeless and in his mid-thirties, was rescued after the driver of the truck heard him screaming for help inside.

The man had fallen asleep in an industrial skip bin at a St Vincent De Paul's op shop in Kerang, a rural town on the Loddon River in northern Victoria in Australia, when the garbage truck emptied the bin about 7.40am.

The truck travelled about 200 metres down the road when the driver heard the man's screams, news.com.au reports.

"The driver went to one location to pick up the skip bin, emptied it into his truck, then drove to another location and heard the gentleman screaming," Mr Steel told news.com.au.

"If the driver had've compacted the garbage we would have a different outcome."

The man pulled himself onto the roof of the truck where rescue authorities helped him down with the use of a ladder. The man was able to get down himself but was taken to Kerang District Health in a stable condition.

"He was quite OK, he didn't seem physically hurt at all," Mr Steel said.

"He was very sorry, very embarrassed, extremely sorry for what's happened."

Mr Steel warned against sleeping in public bins, despite the "straight forward" rescue which took approximately two minutes.

He said the garbage truck driver was "in shock but more worried about welfare of bloke in the dumpster".

Ambulance Victoria said the man was treated at the scene and taken to Kerang District Health in a stable condition.