A new fleet of bin wagons is rolling out across Pendle, each carrying important messages for local people.
Philip Mousdale, the Council’s Corporate Director, said:
“We’ve had the old fleet for over 10 years and it has served us well.
“Pendle has some very tough areas to cover, including narrow back streets and steep roads which are tricky in winter.
“The age of our vehicles meant more time and money was being spent on maintenance.
“This was starting to have a knock-on effect on reliability and on our ability to keep up with collection rounds,” he explained.
David Walker, Environmental Services Manager for Pendle Council said:
“The new fleet of 44 vehicles is more eco-friendly, producing lower levels of harmful pollutants from exhaust fumes.”
“Our 13 bin wagons have giant graphics on the side which mean we can display 26 designs to flag up services which are important to Pendle people,” he said.
Philip Mousdale, added:
“Our bin wagons are out in every corner of Pendle, from towns to rural villages, so they are perfect moving billboards.”
“The new wagons have been fitted with changeable panels so that we can add new graphics when we need to,” he explained.
Some have graphics reminding people they can now recycle plastic food pots, tubs and trays in their brown bin.
Others show how to report problems like fly tipping and dog fouling in a bid to stop the people who are not looking after Pendle’s environment.
The bin wagons are also being used to promote a range of services people may not know Pendle Council can provide.
These include help with gardening, tree cutting and landscaping to waste collections for businesses, and the collection of bulky and DIY waste from people’s homes.
“We’re also using the bin wagons to remind people not to put plastic bags in their recycling bins, because this has been a big problem for us,” explained David.
The new vehicles have been fitted with cameras so that drivers will have a better view of what’s going on around the vehicle.
And there are additional safety markings so that the vehicles themselves will be easily seen by other road users.
This also makes it far safer for our crews who are working alongside the vehicles on the roads.
Phil Quelch, Chief Operations Officer for Go Plant Fleet Services which won the contract for Pendle’s new fleet said:
“We are extremely proud to be able to support Pendle Council for seven more years.
“We provide fleets with a range of benefits which are also great value and Pendle has made the most of this,” he added.
Note to editors
The new fleet also includes road sweepers and vans used by teams such as Pendle Council’s Environmental Crime Team which investigates fly tipping and other environmental crimes.
