Last year, Stevenage Borough Council held a competition for children to name four new food waste vehicles, and the winners have now been revealed:

• Ages 4–8: Letty Lettuce by Elvie-Lee Mitchell

• Ages 9–11: Captain Carrot by Sophie Pratt

• Ages 12–14: Charlie Core by Felicité Joy

• Ages 15–18: Sir Sort-a-Lot by Gwen Shepheard.

The four winners were chosen out of almost 100 entries by a panel consisting of Councillor Rob Broom, Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change; Mayor of Stevenage, Councillor Nazmin Chowdhury; Pat Buckley, Refuse and Recycling Manager; and Claire Murrell, Environmental Policy, Strategy and Projects Officer.

The winning superhero designs have been professionally digitalised and printed on the vehicles, with the name of the vehicle displayed along with the child’s name. All four children were invited to the Cavendish Road depot to see their creations on the side of the vehicles.

The new heroic personas are on a mission to fight waste and protect the planet, starting from Monday 2 March 2026 when the new food waste collection service will launch.

Councillor Rob Broom, Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change, said:

“This competition has been a great way to get our youngest residents thinking about the importance of recycling and reducing our food waste.

“I would like to thank everyone who took part and designed a superhero. It was hard to choose just one winner from each category as we had so many amazing entries, but I am looking forward to seeing Letty Lettuce, Captain Carrot, Charlie Core, and Sir Sort-a-Lot driving around Stevenage collecting residents’ food waste, helping us to build a more sustainable future for everyone.”