Police have been on the scene at Butler Street, Preston, after a Darebin City Council worker made the discovery on Saturday morning.

The bin had been dumped in Melbourne's inner north from somewhere else, police say.

Police brought out the body, wrapping it in blue tarpaulin. The top half of the body was clad in a white tee-shirt soaked in blood.

An undertaker removed the body from the scene.

???Earlier in the morning, a man wearing a yellow high-visibility hoodie, believed to be with the garbage truck, left with detectives.

Victoria Police Detective Sergeant Mark Butterworth said the body was found as the wheelie bin was being was being emptied into the truck.

"At approximately 8.10am this morning, a Darebin City Council truck has attended at Butler Street, Preston to make a pick-up. As the truck was emptying a wheelie bin into the truck, he's (the collector) observed what appears to be a body," Detective Sergeant Butterworth said.

"There are cameras inside the truck and that's how he saw the body. I can confirm that we do have a deceased male person in the truck. The driver is quite distressed."

Detective Sergeant Butterworth said the truck was making a special pick-up after a call from a neighbour about an abandoned bin.

"The bin is not from the immediate area from where the pick-up was made," he said.

"A resident in the street has observed the bin in the street and has rung up the council and asked for a pick-up."

However, Detective Sergeant Butterworth would not comment on which council the bin belonged to and since when it had been in the street.

"I am not in a position to go into full details in relation to that at this stage."

Detective Sergeant Mark Butterworth said he could not comment on the state of the body, which has yet to be identified.

"I [can't] ... describe the condition of the body until such time as the post-mortem examination has been made," he said.

A neighbour who didn't want to be identified said she saw the recycling bin on her neighbour's nature strip on Thursday morning.

She says she went outside and opened the lid but did not realise what the bin contained.

"It was early morning," she said."I was in my pyjamas. When I opened the lid, it was full up. I thought it was rubbish or something, but the bin had a big, black bag."

The garbage bag was not tied up properly, she says , and she could see what looked like a dark cloth hanging from it.

"Maybe trousers or something else," the woman said. "And I said (to the neighbour), maybe they put clothing or something."

While the bin did smell, she said "it was mixed up".

"I never thought there was a body there," she said.

Another neighbour, Dina, said she was out on a walk in the morning at 8.15 when she saw Young Street cordoned off, but "made nothing of it".

"Gee, it's scary," she said. "I walk this way to go to the post office. Never again."

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Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. ???