HE IMMORTALISED Cemetery Junction in a film of the same name, now he’s been immortalised by his home town … Ricky Gervais has had a rubbish truck named after him.
Last month, Reading Borough Council ran a contest asking residents to come up with monikers for its waste collection vehicles.
The closing date was July 1, and earlier this week Ricky Gervais posted a photo of one of the winning entries.
The contest saw pupils name five of the trucks, with adults left to devise the name for the final one. Each will be seen on the streets collecting food waste from residents’ doorsteps.
The mixture of plate scrapings, stale bread, mouldy food, tea and coffee bags, meat and fish bones will be turned into compost, instead of going to landfill to rot.
It is hoped that the new truck names will help boost recycling rates further. Before the food waste scheme was introduced, just a third of doorstep waste was recycling, it’s now more than 50%.
The comedian, who made much of his Whitley roots on programmes such as The 11 O’Clock Show, was thrilled to have a truck named Ricky Gerwaste.
In a tweet he said: “Is there any greater honour than your hometown naming a garbage truck after you?” He added a crying with laughter emoji afterwards.
The remaining names are due to be announced soon.
Is there any greater honour than your hometown naming a garbage truck after you? ???? pic.twitter.com/PfzEvDYdXj
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) July 7, 2022
