New Forest food waste bins ‘pose a danger to roaming pigs'
A row has broken out over the introduction of food waste bins to the New Forest amid claims that pigs will break into them and spread disease.
Plastic caddies to recycle leftovers are being distributed to residents in the historic national park for the first time, but locals who have the right to graze animals have warned the bins pose a danger to livestock.
The group of commoners said it was worried the roaming animals could eat the contents of the plastic receptacles and contract foot and mouth disease or African swine fever, which would be 'extremely dangerous'.
Their comments came as authorities in Hampshire's New Forest welcomed a controversial wheelie bin scheme, which was first approved in 2022.
Under the £5.6 million programme, food waste caddies are being delivered to residents in Brockenhurst, New Milton, Lymington and surrounding areas between April and June.
Andrew Parry-Norton raised concerns at the Verderers' court, a historical body that 'regulates and protects the New Forest's unique agricultural commoning practices'.
The chairman of the Commoners' Defence Association (CDA) said: 'New Forest district council is going to be supplying food waste bins for weekly collections. The advice is that these bins are left outside the gate, and then residents top them up from a smaller kitchen waste bin.
'In the UK, it is illegal to feed or allow kitchen waste to be fed to pigs.
'Not only could this be a problem for pigs, but also donkeys and ponies, who will quickly realise this could become a potential food source.
'We, the CDA, ask the verderers to persuade New Forest district council to retract their advice and request that these bins are kept on the residents' premises where stock [animals] do not have access to it.'
Households in the national park have been given a 23-litre brown outdoor food waste recycling caddy and a five-litre grey indoor food waste recycling caddy.
The council said food waste would be taken to an anaerobic digestion facility where it would be used to create fertiliser and renewable energy.
Speaking after the meeting, Mr Parry-Norton said it was 'a good thing' that the council was looking at improving recycling rates.
But he said: 'What they are recommending to the public is that they keep their waste food bins outside their gates. Now, I raised concerns about this.
'Obviously, we've got things like foot and mouth and African swine fever on the Continent, and that could come across in imported foods, harmless to humans, but obviously extremely dangerous to our animals, especially pigs.
'And so I raised concerns [that] our pigs could actually break these bins open and get hold of this waste food.'
The commoner said he spoke with a councillor about the matter last week, who tried to 'assure me that it's very hard to get the lids off'.
Mr Parry-Norton added: 'Well, to be honest with you, I don't think he's ever experienced a sow trying to get food out of the bin. She wouldn't take long to destroy a plastic tub – they're quite easy to get into.'
The group of commoners – a body that is more than a thousand years old – is urging the council to retract the advice it has given to residents.
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