APPENDIX 1
Review of New Waste Collection Service Phase 1 Roll Out
Requisition for an Extraordinary Meeting of the Council
To:
Kate Ryan ,Chief Executive
Matt Wisdom Assistant Director – Strategy and Engagement (Monitoring Officer)
Cllr John Sleep, Chairman, New Forest District Council
New Forest District Council
Date: 4 August 2025 (Note – the motion below, submitted under Standing Order 22, was finalised and submitted by the relevant deadline of 15 August 2025)
Requisition for an Extraordinary Meeting of the Council
Subject: Suspension and Full Review of Waste Container Rollout Following Operational Failures and Negative Resident Impact on Phase One.
We, the undersigned members of New Forest District Council, acting under Schedule 12, Part II, Paragraph 3 of the Local Government Act 1972 and Standing Order 9 of the Council’s constitution, formally call for an extraordinary meeting of the Full Council to be held as soon as is practical after the 25th August 2025.
Purpose of the Meeting -
To consider a motion calling for:
This Council notes:
1. Ongoing waste and recycling operational issues in Phase 1 areas, including:
a. Missed collections of general, recycling and food waste.
b. Overflowing bins and public health risks from rotting food.
c. Interference from free-roaming animals, particularly donkeys, as a result of changes to collection points in open forest areas.
d. Confusion among residents about collection point requirements.
e. Impact on collections in Phase 2 and 3 areas, as well as call-waiting times for residents.
f. Impact on NFDC officer time and staff morale.
2. The recent partner meeting of 6 August 2025 involving the Verderers, Forestry England, the New Forest Association, and the Commoners Defence Association, which acknowledged these issues and agreed trial changes to bin placement.
3. That trials to address these problems are only commencing in August, with a further partner review not until 27 August—just one day before this meeting.
4. That updated projections for the cost of the Phase 2 and 3 rollout have not been published, which would take into account the additional costs incurred for Phase 1 (including staff pay, transportation costs, officer time and other fees and charges).
5. That the Cabinet has continued to progress Phase 2 implementation despite these known issues, and before trials and risk assessments have concluded.
This Council believes that:
1. Waste removal is an essential service for residents and businesses across the New Forest area.
2. An efficient and effective rollout of Phase 2 and 3 is essential to ensure that we avoid additional costs and minimise disruption for our residents and staff.
3. That this is best achieved by learning the lessons from Phase 1 and ensuring that they are not repeated in Phases 2 and 3.
Council therefore resolves:
a) To suspend the implementation of Phase 2 and Phase 3 of the waste container rollout until:
· A full report is made to Council categorising the Phase 1 issues with clear mitigating actions identified and delivered.
· Results of the trials on bin placement and container security are available and reported to Full Council.
· An agreed operational policy for collection in open forest areas is in place and communicated appropriately with all relevant stakeholders.
· The council reviews its commercial waste policy with regard to camping and caravan sites where there is residential use alongside commercial use.
· Secure food waste container options have been identified and tested.
· A full risk assessment for Phase 2 and Phase 3 areas is completed and published.
· An improved communication and education service is implemented to support residents in the transition to the new service.
b) That bin placement in open forest areas should, where practicable, be inside property cattle grids pending the adoption of any secure container solution, to prevent animal access.
c) That monthly performance data be published on missed collections, animal interference incidents, complaint volumes and resolution rates, and customer service SLA compliance, for the duration of the Phase 2 and 3 rollout.
d) That the Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Environment and Sustainability report progress directly to Full Council before any further rollout stages proceed.
Grounds for Urgency
- Significant public health and hygiene risks due to rotting food, missed food waste collections, and overflowing communal bins with potential attraction of vermin
- Documented cases of infestations (maggots) and impact on elderly and vulnerable residents.
- Service delivery issues across key population centres including Pennington, Lymington, Fordingbridge, Totton, New Milton, and Hythe.
- Refusal to pause the programme despite it being described publicly by councillors, residents and media as a “poorly planned”, “badly executed”, and “incompetently managed.”
- Incomplete service delivery in Phase One, yet Phase Two is being initiated without published review and improvement strategy .
-Additional urgency due to the upcoming start of pannage: free-roaming pigs are at risk of injury or illness from food-contaminated waste left strewn after donkeys or other animals access bins.
Documentation Requested in Advance
To support informed discussion and decision-making, we request that background documentation and officer reports be provided in advance of the meeting, covering:
1. Number of bins still undelivered in Phase One areas, by type and location.
2. Volume and categorisation of complaints received since rollout began, including missed collections and food waste issues including data on impact to the Council’s service level agreement (SLA) for customer service: query volumes, average response and resolution times since the rollout began.
3. Staffing levels, resourcing shortfalls, and any reports of work-to-rule or industrial issues affecting performance.
4. Missed or delayed glass collections, bottle bank collections, glass car park recycling points, and green waste collections areas affected, scale of missed service, and impact on residents.
5. Waste vehicle loading weights and any implications for road safety, legality and routing.
6. What if any work studies were carried out to compare the timings/routes of the current waste collection process and the new process and did we benchmark data from other local authorities used to support the scheme.
7. Cost projections vs actual spend: including any cost overruns or unbudgeted expenditure.
8. Clarification of policy on bin pickup points: whether containers must be placed on property boundaries or collected from within premises. The container pick up location and interaction with New Forest wildlife being a major issue in phase one roll out.
9. Analysis of food waste contamination in general waste bins due to missed or inadequate food caddy collection.
10. Contingency plans (if any) held by NFDC to respond to operational failure, including back-up collections and emergency clean-ups.
11. Health and safety assessments or risk logs produced during Phase One rollout.
12. Legal or contractual penalties/clauses relating to missed collections or resident complaints under contractor agreements.
We request that this extraordinary meeting be scheduled as soon as possible after 25th August 2025 to allow officers time to gather the data and prepare the reports, which shall be circulated to members no later than 5 clear working days before the meeting date, to allow for proper review and preparation.
Signatories (pursuant to LGA 1972 Sch. 12, para. 3)
1. Cllr Malcolm Wade – Lib Dem Group Leader (Dibden and Dibden Purlieu)
2. Cllr David Millar – Deputy Leader (Fordingbridge, Godshill and Hyde)
3. Cllr Jack Davies – Pennington
4. Cllr David Harrison – Totton South
5. Cllr Mark Clark – Hythe South
6. Hilary Brand -Lyndhurst and Minstead.