TORFAEN’S first two electric bin lorries will soon be starting to do their rounds across the borough, and now each lorry has a name.

Torfaen council announced in October that it would be leasing two electric bin lorries to replace two of the current diesel lorries.

As part of this, schoolchildren were invited to choose the names for the two new lorries.

More than 100 entries were submitted, and to everyone’s surprise, the winner wasn’t Binny McBinFace.

The two new lorries will be names BERT (Best Electric Refuse Truck), suggested by Ruby Cording, a Year 2 pupil from Ponthir Church in Wales Primary School, and TREVOR (Torfaen Refuse Electric Vehicle On Route), proposed by a pupil at Henllys Church In Wales School.

The children who came up with the names have won a goody bag, and their class will be invited to take part in an interactive mobile classroom session.

Councillor Mandy Owen, executive member for the environment, said: “This was such a fun competition, and so many great names were put forward. It was hard choosing the winners.

“I’d like to thank everyone who took part, and I can’t wait to see BERT and TREVOR driving around the borough.”

Anna Britten, headteacher at Ponthir Church in Wales Primary School, said: “The children are passionate about the environment and were really excited to hear about the new electric refuse vehicles.

“Ruby came up with a name that describes the vehicle perfectly, and all the children agreed that it should be one of our chosen school entries. We are all delighted that the judges liked it too.

“The children have been learning about the work undertaken by the refuse and recycling crews as one of our pupils, Harri Williams, wants to join the crew when he is older. He’s been sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm with his school friends.”

Each bin lorry will cost £446,194, with Welsh Government offering £200,000 towards each vehicle.

The vehicles will be leased over a period of five years, with an estimated annual cost of £51,307.

The decision to bring in the new lorries is the first step towards full decarbonisation of the council’s fleet, which it hopes to achieve by 2030.

Torfaen council has said that it is also aiming to invest in a new recycling fleet next year.