Ceredigion Econic: the truck with the split personality
15th November 2010
Euro Commercials has presented Ceredigion County Council with their new fleet of seven specially designed Mercedes-Benz Econics, to spearhead their new domestic recycling and waste collection service.
Each vehicle is composed of a Mercedes-Benz Econic chassis with specialist bodywork constructed by NTM GB Ltd. The ‘split’ body offers the opportunity for the Council to collect two different types of recyclable materials at a time without the danger of cross-contamination.
The Leader of Ceredigion County Council, Councillor EJ Keith Evans, thanked Trevor Gardiner (Euro Commercials) and Paul Westley (NTM) for their timely delivery of the new fleet and said:
“Here is a marvellous example of public and private sector partnership commitment to delivering change for the better. The timescale we set for delivery involved three major companies collaborating on a pan-Europe basis to get the right components to the right place at the right time to meet the requirements. That test has been successfully met with the very last vehicle having been delivered.
The new fleet is amongst the most technologically advanced available and will make the least possible environmental impact. We are proud to be the very first UK Local Authority to be operating the split bodied NTM vehicles.”
Ceredigion's new fleet of waste collection vehicles, one of the most modern in Wales, was procured under the Value Wales Framework Agreement for commercial vehicle and bodyworks suppliers. The fleet cost just over £1m - each vehicle costing £156k - funded from a combination of Sustainable Waste Management Grant from the Welsh Assembly Government and the Regional Capital Access Fund which was successfully obtained by Ceredigion County Council, also from the Welsh Assembly Government, to facilitate food waste collection.