Thurrock Council has taken delivery of 28 new Dennis Eagle vehicles, complete with Terberg OmniDEL Xtra bin lifts, to replace its current ageing fleet. To mark the arrival of the new vehicles the Council invited local primary school children to enter a competition to name them, with some very creative results.
Pupils at participating schools were provided with a picture of a bin lorry to colour in, and asked to suggest an imaginative and appropriate name. Over 950 competition entries were received, with winning names including ‘Trash Gordon’, ‘Binnie Jones’, ‘Mission Bin Possible’ and ‘Mr Dumpy McDumphead’.
Children whose names were selected for the vehicles were each presented with a prize, which included a copy of the ‘Dennis the Dustcart’ book, along with a pencil case and crayons.
Portfolio Holder for Environment, Councillor Aaron Watkins, said: “The competition was a great way to share the importance of recycling, waste disposal and the need to look after our environment with pupils.
“All entries were judged by members of the Waste and Recycling team. The winning names feature on the front of the vehicles and the children’s drawings appear on the driver’s door. We are also visiting participating schools with the relevant vehicles so winning pupils and their classmates can see the trucks they named with the artwork on the door.”
Bob Tottey, Regional Sales Manager at Dennis Eagle, comments: “It’s always nice when our customers do something a little bit different to mark the arrival of their new vehicles. As well as helping to raise awareness of the Council’s investment in collection services with local residents, this initiative has proved successful in educating pupils about the environmental benefits of recycling more.
“We would like to congratulate the winners on their creative choice of names, and hope the vehicles will continue to serve the community in Thurrock for many years to come.”