The names of 20 new food waste collection trucks for Hastings, Rother and Wealden have been chosen.
The truck naming competition is part of the launch of the new food waste collections service, which is being introduced from 30 March 2026 to protect the environment and cut down on waste in 2026 for households in Hastings, Rother and Wealden.
The food waste will be collected from homes in new bins provided by the councils and turned into a soil conditioner which can be used for farming or in people’s gardens.
The East Sussex Joint Waste Partnership, made up of Hastings Borough Council, Rother District Council and Wealden District Council, and the waste collections contractor Biffa has selected its favourite 20 names that were submitted by primary schools from all three local authorities.
Many ward councillors visited their local primary schools to talk to the pupils in school assemblies about reducing food waste and recycling what is thrown away.
The 20 names chosen are: The Hungry Helper, Peels on Wheels, Bin Appetit, Food Snapper, Wasty Warrior, Lettuce Recycle, William the Composter, Leftover Larry, SpongeBob ScrapPants, The Bincredible Bulk, The Compost Crusader, Lord of the Bins, The Very Hungry Caddy-Filler, Trashasaurus Rex, Compost Kevin, Peelinator, Sir-eats-a-lot, Food Dude, Rubbishaurus Rex, and Garbage Goblin. These names will be printed and added onto the waste fleet vehicles.
The public are now invited to choose their ultimate favourite name to decide which primary school class will get a visit from its very own named truck. https://letstalk.wealden.gov.uk/name-that-food-waste-truck
Councillor Hazel Timpe, portfolio holder for neighbourhood services, tourism and waste at Rother District Council, said, “I’d like to thank everyone in Rother for taking part in the competition. Not only have children and schools had fun getting involved in this initiative, but our young people also have learnt even more about the importance of food waste recycling, as we look forward to collections starting in the spring next year.”
Councillor James Partridge, Alliance for Wealden (Liberal Democrat) lead councillor for Governance, Waste & Local Economy and leader of the council, said, “Local school children were asked to submit names which they wanted the fleet to be called. A huge amount of funny, entertaining and joyous names was submitted from local schools in Wealden, Hastings and Rother and we all had a lot of smiles on our faces reading them.
“Thank you to the schools that took part and we hope the public enjoy the chosen names too.”
Councillor Jo Walker, lead for Environment and Neighbourhood Wellbeing at Hastings Borough Council and chair of the East Sussex Joint Waste Partnership, said, “It was great to see so many children getting creative with their name suggestions for this competition and learning more about food waste as a result.
“These names will soon be on our trucks as they help deliver a service that reduces waste, protects the environment, and turns food scraps into useful soil conditioner for farming. Help us decide an overall winner by choosing your favourite from the top 20 names before January 31, 2026.”
Trevor Elliott, Biffa’s contracts manager, said, “I am delighted by the brilliant entries and would like to thank the pupils and teachers from the schools that participated. I look forward to seeing these names on the new food waste collection lorries when they start work next year.”
More information will be sent out to households in Hastings, Rother and Wealden about the introduction of food waste collections in the next few months. Let’s put food waste in its place.
Ends
Published: 12th December 2025
