Council to buy seven new bin lorries in upgrade

The council's fleet collects from 67,000 properties across the district

Horsham District Council is to spend £1.73m on seven new bin lorries and £50,000 on bin lifts.

The decision was agreed during a meeting of the full council on Wednesday.

Jay Mercer, cabinet member for environmental health, recycling and waste, said that seven of the lorries the council's 25-strong fleet were "desperately in need of replacement".

Mr Mercer said: "We run the service with very few complaints. We have minimal missed bins and very high recycling figures in comparison with other local authorities.

"We're experiencing daily breakdowns, which puts real pressure on the workshop to keep all vehicles legal and road-worthy."

The council's fleet collects from 67,000 properties across the district, totalling 4.25 million bin lifts per year.

The money will be taken from the capital expenditure budget and will be spent in 2026/27.

The new vehicles will run on HVO – hydro-treated vegetable oil – a biofuel which emits far less carbon when compared to diesel, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service.