Issue details

New Forest District Council, as the statutory Waste Collection Authority, is currently undergoing a significant service transition. This includes:

•A shift from weekly to fortnightly residual waste collections
•The introduction of a new food waste collection service, in line with the Government’s mandate for separate food waste collections by March 2026.

One of the key challenges encountered so far is the interaction of animals with the contents of containers in areas of open forest. This has led to NFDC, with partners, reviewing options for ensuring this issue is minimised, in particular with the upcoming pannage season.

The waste programme board agreed that additional resource was needed to facilitate this. The funding will provide staffing to enable food waste to be collected from behind gates in at least the phase 1 area, with further work being carried out on phases 2 and 3.