The Wokingham Litter Heroes in partnership with Wokingham Town Council and the University of Reading today launch Wall-e of Wokingham – the litter picking robot that will keep our town clean.
Inspired by the Disney animated film and designed in collaboration with NASA robotics, Wokingham beat off competition from other littered towns like Bracknell, Newbury and Hastings to become the first town in the UK to receive a proper Wall-e.
Andrew from the Wokingham Litter Heroes welcomes the town Wall-e. “Having our own Wall-e will make a huge difference to our lovely market town. Litter is a never-ending battle here and Wall-e will make a huge improvement.”
The litter picking robot will navigate around the newly regenerated market place picking up litter within just 30 minutes of it being dropped on the floor. The removal of the trees from the market place allow Wall-e to move around on a flat surface without getting beached on tree roots.
“Our initial trials of Wall-e have seen litter picked up on average in under 20 minutes but it can take a longer if someone has tied a dog poo bag to a tree”
The council have welcomed the idea as it means that unsightly litter bins can be removed which saves significant cost to the ever tightening budget.
The new robot will work on a pay-per-use basis. The robot will sit idle until a member of the public donates a pound to clear up the market place. The arrival of the new pound coin had delayed the launch of Wall-e as the hologram on the pound made Wall-e think it was a Panini sticker.
Critics have dismissed the idea as yet another waste of money saying that it will be a target for anti-social behaviour.
“Vandalism to Wall-e had been a problem in our trials” Andrew regrettably informs The Wokingham Paper.
“However the latest Wall-e has an inbuilt camera linked to the Police that is able to report misdemeanors as they happen”.
“I’m sure the Wall-e of Wokingham will be a great success and we are already looking at further improvements to him” writes Councillor Bernie Highland. “By the end of the year Wall-e should be able to clean graffiti from walls and will also have an inbuilt plant watering system in the hope that Wokingham in Bloom can at last win the Gold award.”
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