We are very sorry to all those affected by delays to waste, recycling and garden collections as the crews get used to new routes and vehicles. We are working with Suez to improve the situation, and we’re providing updates with latest information.

Vote to Name the Waste Vehicles

Published Tuesday 12 December, 2023
Last updated on Thursday 22 February, 2024

Help name Swales’ new fleet of waste collection and street sweeper vehicles by voting for your favourite submissions.

Swale Borough Council received hundreds of suggestions from the community, which were used to create a shortlist of 41 names that the public can now vote on.

The top voted ideas will be used to name 22 of the 24 new waste collection vehicles and the four new street cleansing vehicles.

A shortlist of creative suggestions has been drawn up which includes Binderella, Sweep Low, Sweep Chariot, Bincent Van Gogh, Bin Diesel and Meryl Sweep.

But two of the waste vehicles’ names have been reserved for some thoughtful suggestions the council received and will be revealed at a later date.

The vehicles are currently being built as part of the new waste and street cleansing contract with SUEZ Recycling and Recovery UK Ltd and will be operating from March next year.

This brand-new fleet will help the council deliver improved waste collections and street cleansing services across the borough in a more environmentally friendly way.

They will continue to collect general waste and recycling on alternate weeks, as well as collecting food waste separately every week, which will soon be required by law.

These new vehicles will ensure the council has the capacity for all residents of Swale to recycle their food waste, every week.

Some vehicles will also be dedicated to the garden waste subscription service.

The contract begins bin collections on 25 March 2024 and will make use of the latest technology such as these new vehicles.

Cllr Rich Lehmann, Chair of the environment committee, said:

“We want to thank the people of Swale for their inventive, punny and thoughtful suggestions and I look forward to seeing which names get your vote.

“We asked for the public’s help in naming the new waste collection vehicles that will be serving our community for years to come, and to make you aware of the changes we are making.

“These vehicles form part of our new waste contract and will help us collect your waste efficiently and make sure we have the capacity to collect food waste from every household in the borough.

“While this was a fun exercise, the key message that we need to take away is the importance of recycling and disposing of your food waste correctly.

“If we as a borough can get it right, not only will it make a major positive impact on the environment, but it will also reduce the costs of disposing our waste, therefore making the service more sustainable.

“To achieve this, it is important for you to understand how best to use your bins and what items go in where, whether recycling correctly or utilising your food waste caddy appropriately.

“If you are ever in doubt you can search “what goes in your bin” on our website, if we work together, we can make a real difference to our impact on the climate and environment.

“While many of the suggestions were great, we were not surprised that ‘Binny McBinface’ came up quite a few more times than we would have liked!

“Please use this opportunity to contribute towards the naming of the new waste collection fleet, we can’t wait to get them on the ground and serving the community.”

The full list of names you can vote for are: