Workers have found a man's body while sorting through a load of cardboard at a Cairns recycling plant.
Police are treating the death of itinerant man Paul Goodwin as suspicious as they investigate the possibility he was sleeping in an industrial recycling bin when it was emptied and its contents taken to the plant.
But they are also looking at other possibilities, with the final 36 hours of his life from Tuesday morning the focus of the investigation.
Early inquiries indicate his body had been in a dumpster that was collected from the Cairns CBD early on Wednesday morning.
"We've got an open mind," detective inspector Sonia Smith told reporters on Thursday.
"We treat all deaths as suspicious unless proven otherwise."
She would not detail injuries suffered by the 52-year-old, whose body was found at the Bungalow site on Wednesday.
Mr Goodwin was known to have lived an itinerant lifestyle since moving to the Cairns area last year.
He had tattoos on both wrists and on his left elbow, and was last seen in Cairns on Tuesday wearing a dark shirt and light-coloured pants with a black backpack.
Police want to speak to anyone who encountered him in recent days.
"If they know who Paul mixed with or if they were somebody who mixed with Paul, please come forward and identify yourself to police. We're keen to speak to you," Det Insp Smith said.
Workers distressed by the grisly find have been offered support, she said.
