Two electric bin lorries have been unveiled today (Friday) – after being named by the Nottingham public.
The commercial vehicles were the first off the global production line to be purpose-built electric, as opposed to retrofitted former diesel models. They form part of Nottingham City Council’s ambitious target to be the UK’s first carbon-neutral city by 2028.
The lorries have been on the streets of Nottingham since before Christmas and are expected to save the taxpayer £32,000 per year in running costs and reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the city by 52 tonnes per year – the equivalent of 2,000 trees.
The public was asked last month to submit suggestions for names and these have now been chosen – Binderella and Trash Gordon.
Speaking at the authority’s Eastcroft depot today, Councillor Sally Longford, pictured above, Deputy Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Energy, Environment and Democratic Services, said: “It’s great to be able to officially unveil these vehicles today and I’d like to thank everyone who helped to choose names for them.
“They were the first ones off the production line, which is a big deal for the city. It reaffirms Nottingham’s place as a leader in putting innovative electric vehicles into operation.
“They add to our award-winning fleet of zero-emission vehicles which already include the first fully-electric sweepers, cage tippers and minibuses to be run by a local authority in the UK.
“We are leading by example and electrifying the refuse collection fleet is a major step forward in our aims to deliver clean air in our city and a huge step towards our carbon-neutral goals.
“A total of 30 per cent of our vehicles are fully-electric, emitting no exhaust emissions whatsoever, and these lorries further underline our commitment to having a fleet which consists of as many ultra-low emission vehicles as possible by 2028.”
The vehicles – manufactured by Original Equipment Manufacturer Dennis Eagle and supplied to Nottingham City Council by Terberg Matec UK as part of the Nottinghamshire RCV procurement contract – have replaced diesel equivalents to help empty household bins across Nottingham.
Andrew Smith, Assistant Fleet Manager, said: “In the first few weeks, we saved around 60 to 70 litres of diesel per truck, per day. That’s more than 360kg of CO2 each day which we’ve not pumped into the atmosphere.
“They’re out at 6.30am and finishing around 1.30pm, collecting a full load then a smaller one – up to 18 tonnes in all – and coming back with 40 per cent charge remaining. The vehicles’ power and manoeuvrability means they’re finishing around an hour earlier and are able to handle hills with full loads much better than their diesel counterparts.”