Binosaurus and Green Guardian join the wagon line-up!

Published: Tue 23rd July, 2024

Two new refuse and recycling vehicles in Charnwood have been officially named!

Charnwood Borough Council ran its popular Name That Wagon competition once again and put a call out to young residents to help name two new bin lorries which recently joined the fleet.

Over 55 entries were received, and the judging panel found it difficult to pick just two names. However, it was the names ‘Binosaurus’ and ‘Green Guardian’ which grabbed the judge’s attention.

Binosaurus was suggested by children at Watermead Day Nursery in Loughborough.

Kyla Fory, manager at the nursery said: “We saw the competition and discussed naming a bin lorry with our children who decided on their favourite names and Binosaurus was a popular choice.

“As a nursery, we are keen to promote our children's environmental awareness and engagement with the community. Our children regularly engage in litter picking around our local area

“The children were excited their suggestion had been selected. It was a lovely experience for them to see Binosaurus visit the nursery and I am sure they will look out for it when they are at home.”

‘Green Guardian’ was suggested by siblings Stanley, aged 5 and Marley, aged 7 from Rothley. Their granddad David submitted the entry on their behalf, and both were excited to find out it had been chosen.

David Maksymiw said: “We look after our grandchildren on Mondays and when asked what they would call a bin lorry, they said Green Guardian because the bin lorries are like superheroes who save the planet by collecting all our recycling.

“Both Stanley and Marley were thrilled to find out their name had been chosen and they cannot wait to hopefully see Green Guardian collecting their recycling soon.”

Cllr Anne Gray, the Council’s lead member for waste, open spaces and leisure facilities added: “It was really overwhelming to see the amount entries we received for only two wagons!

"There were many fantastic entries which made the task of narrowing them down to only two names really difficult. Binosaurus and Green Guardian will now join the rest of the gang!

"I hope the winners will be able to spot their lorries collecting refuse and recycling in the borough. I would like to thank all the children who took the time to send us their suggestions! I hope you enjoyed taking part.”

The new vehicles will join the likes of Crushington, Garbage Gobler and Rosie Recycler – just some of the names of the other 24 lorries and road sweepers in the fleet.

The rest of the refuse fleet was named by local children in 2020 when the Council invested in a more efficient and safer fleet which included the latest technology.

The first vehicle was named Florence as a dedication to the NHS heroes and key workers who were on the front line supporting the public during the coronavirus pandemic.

The full list of bin lorry and sweeper names can be found on the Council’s website.    

The current fleet of bin lorries collects all refuse and recycling from the borough’s 79,000 homes as well as serving around 33,000 customers of the Council’s garden waste service.

The vehicles empty household bins around five million times a year.