New Forest District Council set to push back introduction of wheelie bins to 2025

CONTROVERSIAL plans to introduce wheelie bins in the New Forest are to be pushed back by a year to 2025, NFDC has announced.

The scheme had been due to start rolling out in 2024 but the district council has delayed it due to new sorting facilities provided by Hampshire County Council not being ready in time.

As reported in the A&T, the Conservative-controlled NFDC agreed its new waste strategy in July last year despite opposition from some residents.

The council said it would boost recycling to meet Whitehall targets but there are concerns about their impact on streets.

It will bring in wheelie bins for its garden waste collection in April 2024, however, instead of reusable bags, offering double capacity.

Cllr Steve Davies, NFDC cabinet member for environment and coastal services, said: "To make all planned changes to the service we are reliant on new sorting facilities in Hampshire, which are currently expected from 2025.

"We're waiting on information from government to understand funding and timelines which will impact the service.

"It's important we get the new service right, so it works for our community for the long run.

"For this reason, we'll be starting with changes to garden waste collections and introducing further changes once we have measures in place to deliver them effectively."

He added the new garden waste service would allow the council to start taking "vital action" to protect the environment and reduce waste.

Under the scheme, mixed recycling and general waste will be collected on alternate weeks from 180-litre wheelie bins where sacks will be deposited.

Residents will also be issued with a separate 90-litre reusable sack for paper and card, plus seven-litre and 23-litre caddies for food waste, collected weekly.

Cllr Malcolm Wade, leader of the Liberal Democrat opposition group, welcomed extra time to identify people who would struggle with wheelie bins.

But he told the A&T the change to green waste was "hasty".

He said: "The delay on bringing in wheelie bins for general and recycling waste should give NFDC longer to ensure properties where wheelie bins are not appropriate are properly identified.

"However the rush to bring them in for garden waste seems a bit hasty as that was originally talked about as an action for after the main change.

"Whilst I see the advantages for our refuse crews, my unease is the impact on the end user of the service."

He added: "The concerns I have is firstly not only will this raise the price of the garden waste collections to pay for the bins, which will then produce a drop-off of users and could increase the flytipping of green waste, but secondly the handling impact of using a wheelie bin in the garden against the current light sack for many of our elderly residents who currently use the service has not been fully thought through."

NFDC said it will continue to provide its assisted collection service for households who need support taking garden waste to the edge of their property.

It also plans to survey properties across the district to identify which will need alternatives to wheelie bins.

Councillors will be updated at a meeting of NFDC's environment and sustainability overview and scrutiny panel meeting on Thursday 12th January.