Waste and recycling strategy

Central government published a new national waste strategy in December 2018, and we have been reviewing our services and developing a new waste strategy for the New Forest in line with the government's objectives.

The national waste strategy

The government's national waste strategy, "Our Waste, Our Resources: A Strategy for England" was published in December 2018 and contains objectives for dealing with the nation's waste, and suggestions for how these objectives can be achieved.

In the future, the items that we collect in the New Forest and the way we collect them will be heavily influenced by the national waste strategy.

The strategy has been subject to several consultations since 2019 which have indicated strong support for many of the objectives suggested. This informed the content of the draft Environment Bill 2020, as well as our Draft Waste Strategy, released in November 2020. 

In May 2021, we submitted responses to the following, most recent consultations:  

• Consistency in household and business recycling collections in England
• Introducing a deposit return scheme in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
• Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for packaging 
• Waste prevention programme for England: Towards a resource efficient economy 

We're currently waiting on more clarity from the government following our responses.  

Our response: We welcome any measures that improve recycling and waste minimisation. We believe creating consistency in household recycling across the country, and introducing a deposit return scheme would be progressive steps to meeting some of the strategy's key objectives. 

As detailed in our Draft Waste Strategy, we support the government's proposal to collect additional dry recyclables and food waste within the next few years. However, timescales for implementation may need to be flexible to allow for changes to our service. 

We support the option to introduce an 'on-the-go' deposit return scheme and agree with the materials proposed as cans, plastic bottles, and glass bottles.  

Extending the producers' responsibility for packaging and the introduction of a plastic tax, are important actions that we hope will encourage businesses to use recycled materials and move this country towards a more circular economy. 

We are pleased that government have indicated that local authorities will be equipped with funds to implement any legislative changes and look forward to seeing the outcome of these consultations. 

The development of the New Forest waste strategy

As a result of the above developments, a working group of council members and officers was formed in August 2019. The group has been working on developing a new waste strategy for the New Forest district that will comply with forthcoming legislation and meet the needs of our community.

Our progress so far

The working group has considered the following:

• New laws for the collection of food waste and recycling
• Different collections systems for collecting waste and recycling
• Initial residents' survey 
• A formal period of engagement in late 2020 when residents and other stakeholders provided feedback 
• Current best practice and what other councils do

The Draft Waste Strategy (DWS) was approved on 4 November 2020 at the council's cabinet meeting. 

The strategy sets out our proposed plan for changes to the waste and recycling service and includes:  

• Weekly collections for food waste in a caddy  
• Alternate weekly collections for paper and card in a reusable bag 
• Alternate weekly collections for mixed recyclables in a wheelie bin 
• Alternate weekly collections for general waste in a wheelie bin  
• Fortnightly garden waste collections in a reusable bag or wheelie bin (subscription service) 

You can read about proposed changes to the service, and reasons for those changes, in the documents below. We are currently waiting on feedback from the latest government consultations before approving a final waste strategy.  

Draft Waste Strategy summary (web version)

Draft Waste Strategy summary [346.55KB] (PDF)

More information about the Draft Waste Strategy (web version)

More information about the Draft Waste Strategy [61.9KB] (PDF)

Draft Waste Strategy [2.84MB]

Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy

In October 2021, we approved a new "Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy" (JMWMS) which will allow us to work collaboratively with district and borough councils in Hampshire to reduce our carbon impact, and comply with forthcoming government legislation.   

As we work on our final waste strategy, the JMWMS will support us in sharing resources and working towards our goal to reduce waste and increase recycling.   

The new JMWMS aligns with the proposed changes set out in our Draft Waste Strategy. This includes:   

• An eventual move to a "twin-stream" recycling collection system for the New Forest district.  A twin-stream system means paper and card will be collected from one container, and glass bottles and jars, plastic bottles, tubs and trays, metal tins and cans in another 
• The introduction of weekly food waste collections within the next few years 

Specific information about the waste service for the New Forest, such as how often waste will be collected, and the types of containers and vehicles to be used, will be known when our final waste strategy is agreed.  

You can view the full JMWMS below. 

View the Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy

What will happen next

As we work on finalising the waste strategy, we are dependent upon: 

• Receiving greater clarity from central government on their intentions for council waste services
• Further work we will be doing with other councils in Hampshire to ensure we have a joined-up approach to managing the county's waste 

We do not expect to approve a final waste strategy until early 2022. We will then work on implementing changes to the waste and recycling service. 

If you have any questions about our waste and recycling strategy, you can contact us at wastestrategy@nfdc.gov.uk.