Council set to spend £4m on replacing bin lorries

A council in South Yorkshire is set to spend £4m on replacing half of its entire bin lorry fleet.

Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council aims to replace 16 of its 32 refuse collection vehicles, with the lorries said to be nearing the end of their operational lifespan.

The vehicles, introduced in 2016, have been plagued by increasing faults and breakdowns, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said, impacting collection services.

The cost of the diesel-fuelled bin lorries, expected to be about £250,000 each, would be spread over two years.

Money had been spent on refurbishing the existing vehicles to try and extend their life, but the council now wants to mitigate the risk of breakdowns by replacing them completely.

Final approval on the council's overall budget is due to be decided by the authority in March.

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