The Isle of Wight Council has taken delivery of a new fleet of state-of-the-art refuse lorries in an effort to make its waste services cleaner and greener.
The seven vehicles represent a £1.4m investment into the island's waste collection service by the council and its waste contractor, Amey. Each lorry is fitted with quieter bin lift technology and enhanced safety systems, including flashing warning signs and an audio warning before the vehicle turns left.
They also come equipped with CCTV cameras and a system which alerts the driver to any objects that cross the vehicle's path when reversing.
‘Our hardworking crews do a great job as part of our effort to keep the island's streets clean,’ said Jonathan Bacon, cabinet member for the environment and waste services.
‘But they need the best tools possible in order to do this — the refresh of our fleet will improve the reliability of the collection rounds, while at the same time helping towards our wider environmental ambitions by being cleaner and more efficient than the older vehicles they replace.’
The fleet will work alongside the existing Mercedes recycling collection lorries which entered service in 2016. As with the recycling vehicles, the new refuse lorries feature a separate food collection pod where the contents of food caddies are placed.
