The vehicles are all Elite 6x2 narrow rear steer with Olympus 16 bodies and Terberg’s OmniDEL Electric bin lifts.
Five of the new additions have also been fitted with Terberg’s bin-weighing technology to give the council more insight into the efficiency and costs of its operations.
Cleansing and fleet services manager Simon Hill explains: “We charge a basic rate per bin at the moment but the bin weighing system will give us a clearer idea of the costs. We’re not considering charging by weight, but we would initially like to identify customers with bins which are consistently too heavy so we can look for other solutions.”
The bin-weighing systems will also enable the council to know where and when bins are likely to be heavier, to tackle potential manual handling issues.
Hill adds: “Another positive for our commercial customers is being able to tell them what happens to their waste. And that is something increasing numbers of them want to know. For instance, we’ve just won a new contract with Exeter University and they are keen to know how much waste we’re collecting from them in different streams.
“This will help them understand how good they are at recycling and where they can improve. A lot of organisations take this very seriously. It’s gone from being a feather in the cap to being an ethical responsibility that’s expected of them.”