Monmouthshire County Council has purchased seven narrow Elite RCVs with Twin Pack bodies and specially designed bin lifts.

The council bought these RCVSs by to make it easier to collect recycling materials in narrow, crowded streets.

The 18-tonne vehicles, based on 4x2 Dennis Eagle Elite chassis, have split bodies for keeping different recycling streams separate. The bin lifts, specially modified by Dennis Eagle to meet Monmouthshire's requirements, are designed to minimise movement of the bins from the back of the vehicle and enable safe collection of bags and bins in the same round.

Nick Bennett, Deputy Operations Manager for Monmouthshire's Waste and Street Services, said: 'We're currently changing our recycling regime to bring it more in line with the Welsh Government blueprint and we want to separate glass from other waste streams to increase the quality of our recycled material, so the Twin Packs were needed.

'It has become difficult to collect in narrow streets where increasing numbers of cars are parked, so we decided on the narrow vehicles to make manoeuvring easier and collections more efficient.

'The Elite chassis was the obvious choice for a low-entry, narrow-bodied vehicle and we also liked the safety aspect of the cab which provides great visibility'

The whole project was facilitated by Dennis Eagle's Regional Sales Manager Adam Robins. 'We were able to go that extra mile to help Monmouthshire Council find a solution to these particular challenges facing them. They have a couple of old, historic towns with narrow streets and confined spaces and they need to be able to safely collect both bags and bins in the same rounds,' he commented.

The first vehicle was delivered early for training purposes. Councillor Bryan Jones, Cabinet Member for Community Operations, was one of the first to have a look at the new RCV.

'In Monmouthshire, we have many historic towns with old, narrow streets and plenty of very narrow rural lanes, which means we have different needs from many other places,' he commented.

'Our Waste and Street Services team has gone that extra mile with Dennis Eagle to get the specific vehicles that meet the wants and needs of the people of Monmouthshire, where the environment is a top priority'