Wheelie bins monitored over donkey concerns

The rollout of new wheelie bins and food waste caddies in the New Forest is to be monitored following reports of ponies and donkeys breaking into them.

New Forest District Council started its first phase to rollout the bins in April to residents of Brockenhurst, New Milton, Lymington and the surrounding areas.

The council said it had seen cases of donkeys in the national park "interacting with waste containers" and that it would monitor the "emerging issue".

Last month, livestock-owners raised concerns about animals seeing the bins as a "potential food source", which could damage their health.

New Forest District Council was among the last local authorities not to use wheelie bins.

The wheelie bins and caddies are replacing single-use black and clear plastic bags for residents' domestic and food waste, plus recyclables.

The area's free-roaming ponies, pigs, donkeys and cattle are owned by commoners - people who own or occupy land with ancient rights attached.

At last month's meeting of the Verderers Court which administers commoners' rights, Commoners Defence Association (CDA) chairman Andrew Parry-Norton called on the council to change its advice to residents to ensure bins were kept away from areas where livestock roam.

"Not only could the bins be a problem for pigs, but also donkeys and ponies who will quickly realise this could become a potential food source," he told the court.

In a statement, the council said: "We have this morning seen a handful of examples of donkeys interacting with waste containers, across a collection area covering around 1,650 properties.

"We are listening to our residents, and while we continue to monitor the situation, we have been working on ways to address this emerging issue."

Reported incidents remained "very minimal," it added.

It also said it had already had a "helpful discussion" with the CDA and would be reviewing its findings with other bodies including Forestry England in a bid to reduce the chance of animals accessing food waste.

The move to wheelie bins was given the go-ahead in 2022 with the council insisting they were needed to increase recycling rates, while opponents argued they were unsightly and costly.

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