Published Wednesday, 15th July 2020

The 11 new waste and recycling trucks rolling out across the borough are being welcomed by crews who depend on them to complete their rounds.

Improved reliability and efficiency are more important than ever as the Council works to maintain household waste collections during the coronavirus pandemic.

The new fleet

Replacing the old vehicles that can break down frequently builds greater resilience in the service - saving down time for crews and costly repairs in the workshop.

Don't waste your name ideas graphic

The crews have been so impressed with their new team members that they’d like to name the trucks, and as a thank you for the kindness residents have shown them during lockdown they’d like your help. We’re looking for suggestions for a shortlist of names so they can pick their favourites. If you’d like to see your suggested name driving around the borough, send us your ideas using the short online form.

The new trucks will gradually replace all 17 vehicles in the existing fleet and will help us to be cleaner and greener. The Euro VI diesel engines will reduce harmful emissions and the electric bin lifts will help reduce fuel usage by around 12%, as well as being quieter.

Cllr Natalie Bramhall, Portfolio Holder for Neighbourhood Services said: “Introducing a more sustainable fleet is an important step in the Council’s five-year plan to proactively tackle climate change and reduce the Borough’s environmental impact. Having vehicles the crews can rely on will help them to continue to collect household waste, even during these uncertain times.”

The new trucks, which you should be able to spot out and about on the borough’s roads, are wrapped in a colourful new recycling campaign. This aims to highlight how the small things we each do, like recycling everything we can, make a big difference collectively.  For instance, recycling your food leftovers is converted into electricity or fertiliser for crops.

At a time when we’re collecting volumes of waste that we usually only see at Christmas time, recycling can make an even bigger difference than usual. Currently all the recycling individual households do across the borough adds up to a borough recycling rate of 54%.

Although more colourful, the new vehicles are quieter thanks to an electric bin lift, which reduces noise and cuts fuel emissions. Additional safety features include front and rear active braking assists, which will automatically apply the brakes when obstacles are detected.