Optimus Grime, Litter Critter and Binderella were among 10 newly named waste collection lorries making special visits to schools in the district.
West Lindsey District Council invited schoolchildren to name a lorry as part of a competition to raise awareness about the climate, recycling and our environment.
The popular competition saw pupils come up with some pun-tastic and creative names for our lorries, which have all been renamed. They will be seen on streets throughout the district during the weekly collections.
A team of judges from West Lindsey Council chose the winning entries, and the successful schools also received a £20 book token.
Cllr Stephen Bunney, Chair of the council’s, Environment, Sustainability and Climate Change working group, said:
“It was great to see so many of our schools taking part in this competition and we were delighted to be able to visit the winning schools with our newly named bin lorries.
“This competition has been a fun way of engaging with school children and getting them thinking about our climate, the environment, and all the key recycling messages.”
The special names for our lorries include: Bin Affleck, Binster; Binjamin; Bin Charles; Bincent Kompany; Bin Mobile, and Bin Kingsley. The lorries and our waste crews have been visiting all ten schools, giving pupils the chance to see their winning names on the vehicles, and have photographs taken.
Kerri Grummell, Executive Headteacher of Normanby by Spital and Faldingworth Primary Schools (Fair Acres Federation), both of which were visited by the lorries. said they were proud to be among the winners of the competition.
She said:
“Our schools love to link their learning to community projects and we saw this as an opportunity to further our learning and experiences linked to the environmental sustainability and waste management topics which we cover in our school curriculum.
“We look forward to spotting ‘Binmobile’ and ‘Litter Critter’ on their collection days.”
Elaine Bilton, the council’s Waste Policy and Commercial Waste Officer, said:
“This was a great opportunity to interact with local primary schools and to encourage recycling and sustainable practices within their schools.
“The competition was initially announced prior to national recycling week in October 2023 and also promoted “Let’s go Zero” which is about schools working to become zero carbon. We are pleased to have received so many entries and we can now look out for these named lorries in our neighbourhoods.”
Waste minimisation and recycling remains amongst the top priorities at West Lindsey District Council. During the summer, the authority launched its ‘Small Steps, Big Impact’ campaign, which aims to encourage and support local people to take some simple, easy steps to improve the environment. This could be anything from leaving the car at home in favour of using public transport more, cycling or walking more, or doing what you can to recycle more and waste less.
West Lindsey District Council is also carrying out a gradual upgrade of its vehicles, which will see older, end of life vehicles, replaced with more efficient, cleaner equivalents.
Find out more about our waste and recycling services and policies here: Waste and Recycling
The full list of winning schools and their names:
| Name | School |
|---|---|
| Binderella | Hillcrest Early Years Academy, Gainsborough |
| Optimus Grime | Welton St Mary's CE Primary Academy |
| Litter Critter | Normanby by Spital Primary School |
| Binster | Benjamin Adlard School, Gainsborough |
| Binjamin | Sturton by Stow Primary School |
| Bin Affleck | Blyton-cum-Laughton (Blyton site) |
| Bin Charles | Castle Wood Academy, Gainsborough |
| Bincent Kompany | Parish Church Primary School, Gainsborough |
| Binmobile | Faldingworth Primary School |
| Bin Kingsley | Blyton-cum-Laughton (Laughton site) |