A competition giving children the chance to name the council’s new waste trucks has been extended – with the authority’s waste service accepting entries in person at five summer events.

Children who either live or go to school in the borough now have until July 27 to submit their entries, with the top three winning a £300 prize for their school.

A panel led by the Mayor of Dudley will scrutinise the entries and select the winners. The new fleet of trucks is coming in as part of Dudley Council’s new household waste service set to launch next year.

It will see separate collections for garden waste, recycling, general waste and food waste.

The council’s waste service team will be at Himley Hall this weekend for Under 5s Day on Friday and Armed Forces Day on Sunday.

There will be a stand explaining about the new waste service, a waste truck for children to explore and recycling activities. Children will also be able to enter the competition by submitting their entry at the stand.

The team will also be out and about this summer at Stourbridge Carnival on July 6, Brier Fair in Brierley Hill on July 26 and Sedgley Black Country Fair on July 27.

All winning pupils will receive a certificate of achievement and a photograph of ‘their’ vehicle once it is on the road early next year.

The top three will receive a visit at their school from the Mayor and Mayoress, who will personally present the £300 prizes to be used to buy resources and equipment for the school.

Councillor Pete Lee, Mayor of Dudley, said: “We’ve had some fantastic entries already and I want to thank all the children who have already sent them in.

“But we had a meeting and decided that the window for entries had been quite narrow. So we are extending it to July 27, and also making it even easier by giving children the chance to enter at some of our top summer events.

“You can give your truck any name you like – all we need is a short sentence alongside it explaining why you chose that name. I look forward to seeing the entries.”

The new waste strategy will see a weekly food waste collection introduced and changes to the current refuse and recycling collections.

Entries can also be hand-delivered to The Council House, Priory Road, Dudley for the attention of Clare Waldron, or can be scanned and emailed to CAPA.Admin@dudley.gov.uk.