Former New Forest mayor hits out at wheelie bin launch

Jack Davies is an opposition member of the district council, which has begun to transform the way household waste is collected in the Forest.

The controversial new system began in the Lymington, Brockenhurst, and New Milton areas on Monday, with wheelie bins and caddies replacing plastic refuse sacks.

Cllr Davies, a former mayor of Lymington, is a Liberal Democrat member for Pennington.

He said: "I think the council have clearly underestimated the sheer logistical nightmare of delivering the new bins to thousands of households across Lymington and the surrounding area.

"They’ve had to bring contractors in to help, which will send the overall bill sky-rocketing and make it harder for the council to track what houses haven’t had the new bins delivered.

“The result is chaos. I’m still chasing up bins that haven’t been delivered to residents and the collections have already started."

READ MORE: Thousands of wheelie bins delivered to the New Forest

Cllr Davies added: "There were always going to be teething issues but I’m shocked at the amount of people who haven’t received their bins.

"I will be asking questions of the officers and portfolio holder at the next committee meeting. We need answers and we need a plan so that this chaos isn’t replicated when the next phase is rolled out."

Wheelie bins and food waste caddies are being delivered to homes in part of the New Forest (Image: NFDC)

But the Conservative-controlled council has hit back at Cllr Davies.

Cllr Geoffrey Blunden, portfolio holder for environment and sustainability, sad: "I strongly reject the suggestion that the rollout of the new waste service has been chaotic.

"This is the largest operational change the council has undertaken in decades, involving 31,000 households in Phase 1, and we have always been clear that there may be teething issues in the early stages. 

"All but a handful of properties have had their bins in good time for the start of the new service and their first collections. We have robust systems in place to respond to any outstanding issues.

"And we have not had to ‘bring in contractors at the last minute'.

"From the outset we commissioned a specialist company to deliver the new bins and caddies; allowing our teams to continue the ongoing work of refuse and recycling rounds."

Wheelie bins will be rolled out in Ringwood and Fordingbridge in October, with the Totton area joining the scheme in March 2026.

Totton councillor David Harrison said: "It's been an issue that has divided the community, with some welcoming it and others deeply opposed."