New truck names have wheelie bin worth it

Swindon Borough Council has unveiled the new names of its recycling trucks following a public competition on social media.

Following multiple rounds of voting the public have narrowed down their favourite names to the final four from the top 12, as suggested by residents on Facebook.

The Council launched the competition to name its recycling lorries over a month ago starting with a three-period where residents suggested over 250 different names for the Council’s 13 recycling lorries.

The list was then narrowed down to 12 finalists and, following four days of voting, the public picked their final favourites, which are:

• Bin Diesel
• Binderella
• Optimus Grime
• Johnny Trash

Over 3,500 residents took part in the voting with the names for the other lorries named by the crews who drive them and Council staff.

The competition is part of the Council’s push to increase recycling across the borough after a fall in recycling over recent years has left the town with a 38 per cent recycling rate.

Councillor Maureen Penny, Swindon Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways and the Environment, said: “It was great to see so many residents getting involved in naming our recycling trucks. They have picked some really great names and I hope this will raise awareness around the importance of recycling for Swindon.

“We know we have some residents who are great at recycling but we also know that there is still a lot more to do to get our recycling rate up to the 50% required by Government by 2020.

“I would encourage everyone to recycle as much as they can using our kerbside collection of cardboard, paper, tins, fabrics and glass. If anyone is unsure of what they can recycle they can check on our website www.swindon.gov.uk/recycling”