One council is at a ‘very early stage’ of exploring the concept
One of the portable defibrillators that are being carried aboard East Riding Council bin wagons(Image: East Riding of Yorkshire Council)
The rolling-out of portable defibrillators on East Yorkshire’s bin lorries has already begun to chime with other local authorities. The potentially life-saving scheme by East Riding Council has one council “watching on” and another “at a very early stage” of exploring the initiative for its own waste management service.
The pioneering scheme means all of the East Riding’s bin wagons have an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) on board, and the bin crews offered training in how to use them in an emergency situation on their rounds. It will enable anyone to access the AED – not just the crew – and deploy it, including emergency service personnel, if and when a need arises out in the community and is being seen as particularly helpful in the remotest parts of rural East Yorkshire that the refuse lorries serve.
A North East Lincolnshire Council spokesperson said: “Currently, this is not something we are looking at implementing into our service. We would like to wish East Riding of Yorkshire Council all the best in this initiative and we will be watching on to see what we can learn from their approach.”
North Yorkshire Council has also become aware of the initiative. A spokesperson said: “We are currently at a very early stage of exploring this concept within North Yorkshire Council.”
At this time the council was unable to provide a more detailed comment. A spokesperson for Hull City Council said: “While the council has no active plans to install defibrillators as mobile devices, its ongoing Hull Action for Neighbourhood Defibrillators (HANDS) continues to support the community.
“In 2025, HANDS installed 18 defibrillators across the city, with the community having 24/7 access at each fixed location and each unit’s guardian performing regular checks to ensure they are emergency ready. Each unit is registered with The Circuit.
“These are in addition to numerous units already installed throughout the city, as well as the distribution of 100 bleed kits supported by the council.” Meanwhile, the public have also been responding to news of the initiative.
One person, replying to a Hull Live post about the scheme, said: “My uncle worked on the lorries as a mechanic back in the 80s. He had a massive heart attack whilst working and died very young.
“Brilliant idea, hats off to those that came up with the idea. It will go on to save countless lives in the future.”
One response began, jokingly: “Imagine ringing for an ambulance and the bin lorry turns up” but went on to say: “Fair play to the ERYC and their staff.
“We got told the wait for an ambulance for a suspected heart attack about two years ago was four hours.”
There were many likes for the post and one response said simply: “Well done lads.” A follow-up post about the initiative saw one person reply: “They should have been on them well before now.”
Another person posted: “Great idea but pads can only be used once, who’s paying for the replacement pads? They’re not cheap.”
One person posed the question: “Are they going to transmit location data to the emergency services so that they can direct one of these vehicles if they are nearer than an ambulance with a suspected cardiac event?” The council has previously said it is in talks with the Yorkshire Ambulance Service to try to arrange real-time tracking of its bin lorries, so the nearest trucks can be located quickly if a defibrillator is ever needed by first responders or local volunteers.
Hull Live is backing the East Riding initiative, and going one further by helping to spread the word and urge other councils across the country – particularly those in rural areas – to consider a similar scheme.
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