The Government’s resources and waste strategy for England (WRAP) has a goal to eliminate food waste to landfill by 2030. Changes in legislation mean that separate food waste collections are being rolled out across England, as outlined in the Environment Act 2021, which states that food waste collections for households will be mandatory as of March 2026 and for businesses or non-domestic premises by March 2025.
Local authorities up and down the country need to raise awareness of the changes among their residents, especially as food waste collections are required to be carried out at least once a week. Budgetary restrictions and the pressure to reach more people for less spend are leading councils to look at additional and alternative ways to communicate key messages.
One cost-effective way of doing this is by wrapping vehicles – a service offered by CVW. CVW provides a complete one-stop shop service with an extensive 8,500 square feet wrapping installation unit located in Cannock close to the M42, incorporating a dedicated, state of the art print studio and talented in-house design team. CVW can wrap any size of vehicle and accommodate large and complex fleets, often working to tight deadlines.
According to studies cited by CVW, wrapped vehicles travelling in major cities can reach audiences of over 65,000 per day. Vehicles travelling in local suburban areas, meanwhile, can generate audiences of over 30,000 per day. CVW argue that vehicle wraps are the lowest cost-per-impression rate form of advertising, with your message and image being displayed 24/7 unlike TV and radio advertisements.
They are effectively what CVW Director Jonathan Thomas calls ‘the world’s slowest moving billboards’ and the company has implemented successful wrap campaigns for many local authorities across the UK.
Jonathan commented: ‘The new food waste legislation is a great opportunity for councils to convey tactical information to residents about how and when food collections will be carried out, as well as communicate important strategic messages about carbon reduction targets and sustainability goals.
‘Wrapping these smaller vehicles in gloss vinyl particularly makes them stand out and attract attention.’
Swindon Borough Council decided to go down this road. The local authority rolled out weekly food waste recycling collections in Autumn and purchased a new fleet of vehicles to facilitate the new service. The Romaquip Kerb Sort vehicles are wrapped with the ‘REDUCE. REUSE. RECYCLE’ message to encourage residents to do their bit.
Ian McKinnon, Fleet Manager at Swindon Borough Council, commented: 'We are delighted with the quality, speed of service and competitive price from Creative Vehicle Wrapping. The vehicles have been wrapped to a very high standard and the messaging is a great way to communicate the “Reduce. Reuse. Recycle” message to our residents.'
Earlier this year, CVW also gave Sandwell Borough Council’s brand-new waste and recycling collections fleet a vinyl wrap makeover. The eye-catching designs were chosen to promote the commitment of the council and their waste services partners’ commitment to driving up recycling rates.
Commenting on CVW’s work with Sandwell Borough Council and waste management specialists Serco, Jonathan said: 'Our team worked closely with Serco to ensure that their design concepts could be applied perfectly onto the vehicles. We also delivered each vehicle back to the council depot. We are thrilled that Serco and Sandwell Council are pleased with the vehicles and we hope they help to boost recycling rates in the borough.'
Of course, wrapping is not just a useful means of raising awareness about food waste collections. It can be used to share whatever message needs to be delivered.
Last year, 14 six-year-old recycling vehicles operated by the environmental services company Ubico on behalf of Gloucester City Council were given a new lease of life. According to Ian Bourton, head of Fleet Operations at Ubico Ltd, the vehicles were in good working order from an operational point of view, but they were ‘looking very tired and carried branding from the previous contractor.’
CVW stepped in and wrapped them using high quality vinyl and updated graphics. Ian was certainly happy with the result, commenting: ‘The quality of vinyl and the clarity of the images and graphics is first class, and the in-house design expertise at CVW is excellent. We are delighted with the results.'
As a Specialist Installer for Avery Dennison CVW is part of a worldwide network of highly trained and fully audited graphics and automotive wrap service providers. Everyone on the CVW wrapping team undertakes the Avery Dennison certification program at the company’s Academy. In a short space of time CVW has managed to establish itself within the vinyl graphics industry and is now a recognised, and significant, buyer in the industry.
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