Council invests nearly £7m in new fleet of refuse collection vehicles
Gateshead Council are modernising their waste and recycling service with the purchase of 36 new refuse collection vehicles (RCVs).
At a cost of £6.8milion, it is anticipated the new fleet will improve the reliability of the council's waste collection service, as well as helping to reduce their carbon footprint, with all RCVs meeting the highest emissions standards.
The new RCVs, which are currently being procured to ensure cost efficiently purchasing, will replace the council's existing aging fleet, and Councillor John McElroy, Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport at Gateshead Council, is particularly eager to see their introduction:
"Our priority is to make sure the waste and recycling service we provide to residents is as effective and efficient as possible, and this significant investment in new vehicles is clear evidence of our commitment to this.
"Having an ultra-modern fleet will help us reduce pollution, will create much less noise when in operation, and lessen the risk of interruptions caused by breakdowns."
A further feature of the new vehicles is they're single body rather than a split body, and for very good reason. Currently the council politely asks residents to separate paper from all other recyclable materials, and these are deposited into separate chambers in the RCV by waste collection crews. This is due to the difficultly of separating the materials. However, due to advancements in sorting technology, it is now possible to separate these materials during processing.
Councillor McElroy, added:
"The amount of paper recycling we collect has dropped significantly in recent years as less people regularly buy newspapers and magazines, coupled with our ability to sort materials in our recycling facilities, means that we can collect mixed recycling in a more efficient manner by using this type of vehicle.
"While we're not quite ready to ask residents to stop separating their paper recycling into their inner bin caddies, by purchasing single-bodied vehicles now, we're future proofing by making sure we have the correct equipment in place and ready to go once we're in a position to introduce it."
It is anticipated current collection routes and frequencies will be unaffected by the purchase of new RVCs, with their introduction expected by late 2025.
Gateshead Council are modernising their waste and recycling service with the purchase of 36 new refuse collection vehicles (RCVs).
At a cost of £6.8milion, it is anticipated the new fleet will improve the reliability of the council's waste collection service, as well as helping to reduce their carbon footprint, with all RCVs meeting the highest emissions standards.
The new RCVs, which are currently being procured to ensure cost efficiently purchasing, will replace the council's existing aging fleet, and Councillor John McElroy, Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport at Gateshead Council, is particularly eager to see their introduction:
"Our priority is to make sure the waste and recycling service we provide to residents is as effective and efficient as possible, and this significant investment in new vehicles is clear evidence of our commitment to this.
"Having an ultra-modern fleet will help us reduce pollution, will create much less noise when in operation, and lessen the risk of interruptions caused by breakdowns."
A further feature of the new vehicles is they're single body rather than a split body, and for very good reason. Currently the council politely asks residents to separate paper from all other recyclable materials, and these are deposited into separate chambers in the RCV by waste collection crews. This is due to the difficultly of separating the materials. However, due to advancements in sorting technology, it is now possible to separate these materials during processing.
Councillor McElroy, added:
"The amount of paper recycling we collect has dropped significantly in recent years as less people regularly buy newspapers and magazines, coupled with our ability to sort materials in our recycling facilities, means that we can collect mixed recycling in a more efficient manner by using this type of vehicle.
"While we're not quite ready to ask residents to stop separating their paper recycling into their inner bin caddies, by purchasing single-bodied vehicles now, we're future proofing by making sure we have the correct equipment in place and ready to go once we're in a position to introduce it."
It is anticipated current collection routes and frequencies will be unaffected by the purchase of new RVCs, with their introduction expected by late 2025.
