The man was believed to have dropped something inside by mistake and then strangled himself as he reached in to retrieve it.
Police out on routine patrol in the Spanish town of Genova, Mallorca, were stunned to walk down Calle Chile to find the lifeless man suspended from the container, The Mirror reported.
His head and two arms were still firmly lodged inside. It was feared the man had been trapped for over an hour before dying.
Police believe the man was out shopping and decided to throw some old newspapers away, but accidentally dropped something else inside the bin.
In 2010, a homeless man died in Newham, East London, after falling into a clothes recycling bin.
