The cabinet member behind the roll out of the introduction of wheelie bins and food waste caddies in the New Forest has apologised for "teething issues".

Councillor Geoffrey Blunden, portfolio holder for environment and sustainability, said that ten tonnes of food waste was recycled within the first two days of the new service.

He called this a "fantastic result", but then apologised as some bins were not delivered in time for the launch of the service.

READ MORE: 'It's chaos': Former mayor raps launch of new bin collection system

He said: "Crews are learning new routes, using new vehicles, and adapting to new in-cab tech. We’ve planned for this and are running extra response crews in the first few weeks. 

"Of course, with any change of this scale, we know there will be questions and some teething issues as people adjust.

"We are working to improve as we are also getting used to a new way of working and hope to have any teething issues sorted by next week."

But his apology comes after being criticised by opposition and former mayor Councillor Jack Davies, who called the roll out "chaos".

"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," he said.

Cllr Blunden has since said that over 30,000 households in Lymington, Brockenhurst, and New Milton have received new bins and caddies.