READING Borough Council’s new fleet of electric refuse collection lorries have officially been named following a weeks-long contest to decide on their new monikers.
The council introduced the first of its new electric bin lorries in 2021, growing to a fleet of five since.
Reading school children and residents were invited to take part in a contest to name the new lorries, following a similar competition to name food waste lorries last year.
Now the council has officially announced what they’ll be calling the new fleet of carbon-cutting waste lorries.
Antoine Ifill at The Lodge Day Nursery put forward one of the winning selections, Dusty Binfield, alongside Bincent Van Gone, submitted by Edward Day, and John MaWasteSki, submitted by Emlyn Jones.
They will join Boom Boom, submitted by Hannah Niazi of Alfred Sutton Primary School, and Bin There, Done That, submitted by Erin Gray.
They’ll be emblazoned with the new names as they continue to collect waste in Reading alongside Ricky Gerwaste, Waster Taster, the Bindalorian, Hungry Hippo, Trashosaurus, and Bin Truck McBinFace, as named by last year’s contest.
The lorries are part of the council’s carbon-cutting measures, which have seen it make the 4th largest reduction of carbon footprint by a local authority in the UK, as laid out in its Carbon Plan for 2020-2025.
The switch from diesel lorries to electric ones cuts greenhouse gas emissions by more than 32,000kg.
Cllr Karen Rowland, Lead Member for Environmental Services and Community Safety, said:
“I’m thrilled that residents were so excited about naming our electric waste trucks and are engaging and getting behind our goal to protect the environment.
“The switch over to electric vehicles is a key part of our carbon zero ambitions, and we continue to lead by example in moving towards that target. Reading Borough Council was the first local authority in Berkshire to introduce an electric bin lorry and we’ve now expanded that to five.
“Tackling the climate emergency is a team effort, and in addition to these electric waste trucks, I encourage all residents to play their part too by recycling more as well as engaging with food waste recycling”.
