Keep Your Eyes Peeled for 'Dusty Bin' and 'Trashy'

SCHOOLCHILDREN put on their thinking caps to come up with novel names for Charnwood Borough Council’s new fleet of refuse and recycling vehicles in a competition run in conjunction with Serco, the authority’s waste management partner.

The fleet of 12 vehicles now carry such names as ‘Crushanator’, ‘Waste Watchers’, ‘The Green Goblin’ and ‘Eco-Saving Ed’.

Some of the youngsters who came up with the names were given a treat at The Outwoods as they had a chance to see the vehicles in action – and sit proudly in the driver’s seat.

Councillor Hilary Fryer, the Borough Council’s Cabinet member for Cleansing and Open Spaces, said: “We had more than 100 entries and it was a competition which really seemed to capture the imagination of the youngsters.

“I feel it is all part of giving the service a greater identity and part of our continuing commitment to keeping the Borough clean, tidy and healthy for everyone. It is also another example of the strong working relationship between the Council and Serco.”

Jim McGovern, senior refuse and recycling supervisor for Serco in Leicestershire, said: “I want to congratulate all the youngsters for naming the vehicles and I think they can take great pride in seeing their chosen names in the window of the vehicles.”

Children had plenty of questions for Mr McGovern during their visit on such topics as the red seat belts in the vehicles, where the recycling material was taken and what time collections are made.

Jess Newitt, nine, of Booth Wood School in Loughborough, came up with the name ‘Trashy’, while Adam Morgan, eight and another Booth Wood pupil, decided on ‘Dusty Bin’, although mum, Sam, said he had never seen or heard of the ITV quiz show, ‘3-2-1’.

Sam said: “I have been trying to explain it to him because he had never heard of the show so the idea must have just come out of the blue. He has been excited about seeing the vehicles for days and he could not wait to sit up in the driver’s seat.”

Amanda Wells, a teacher at Booth Wood, said: “The children have been so excited about seeing the wagons.

“We did quite a lot of work on the project in class and it is educating the youngsters about recycling in an exciting yet informative way.”

Alice Kemp, nine, of Holywell Primary called her vehicle ‘Green Lightning’. Her favourite film is Grease and it was a take on one of the songs, Greased Lightning. Brandon Chapman, eight, of Church Hill Primary, was also at the vehicle-naming event and called his vehicle, ‘Mr Green’.

 

The other primary schools which took part in the vehicle-naming were Seagrave and Eastfield.