Summary: Mr X complained about the Council’s waste collection service. He says despite the Council’s monitoring of his waste collection, it has failed to return his bins to the agreed point and has carried out partial collections. Mr X says the Council’s actions have caused him avoidable frustration. We found fault by the Council and the Council has agreed to apologise to Mr X and create an action plan to identify ways of improving its performance.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the Council’s waste collection service. In resolution of his previous complaint, the Council agreed to return Mr X’s bins to an agreed point and to monitor collections to ensure they were completed correctly. Mr X says that despite the Council extending the monitoring period, it has failed to return his bins to the agreed point and has carried out partial collections. He says the Council’s actions have caused him avoidable frustration. Mr X would like the Council to resolve the issues causing the problems with the waste collection service.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. We investigate complaints about councils and certain other bodies. Where an individual, organisation or private company is providing services on behalf of a council, we can investigate complaints about the actions of these providers. (Local Government Act 1974, section 25(7), as amended)
4. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I discussed the complaint with Mr X and considered the information he provided.
6. I made enquiries to the Council and considered the information it provided.
7. Mr X and the Council have had the opportunity to comment on a draft of this decision. I have considered their comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Legislation

8. Councils have a duty under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to collect household waste and recycling from properties in its area. The collections do not have to be weekly, and councils can decide the type of bins or boxes people must use.
9. The Council's practice is to make fortnightly recycling and household waste collections. The Council provides residents with boxes and bins to help with recycling.
10. The Council’s waste collection service is carried out by a third-party contractor. If the contractor fails to collect a bin, fully empty it, or return it, the Council puts the address on an ‘assured’ property list. This highlights to the contractor that there has been repeated service failure at the address. When an address is on this list, the waste management contractor should monitor the collections more closely to resolve the service issue.

Background

11. Mr X brought two previous complaints about missed/partial bin collections to the Ombudsman, one in 2021 and the other in 2022.
12. Following our last decision in November 2022, the Council placed Mr X’s property on its assured property list. It also agreed to:
• confirm with Mr X the collection and return point for his bins,
• monitor the collection of Mr X’s bins for six months, and
• consider extending the monitoring period if the Council missed further collections or made partial collections during the six-month period.

What happened

13. This chronology includes key events in this case and does not cover everything that happened.
14. The Council contacted Mr X in May 2023 to ask if he had experienced any further issues with his waste collection. Mr X told the Council there had been only one notable occurrence, a few weeks previously, when a recycling bin was not returned to his property.
15. A few days later, Mr X told the Council it had not fully emptied his paper recycling bin. He said the contractors had also not returned his recycling bins to his property.
16. The Council extended the monitoring period and in August 2023, contacted Mr X to ask if he had experienced any further issues since May. Mr X told the Council he had spoken to the Council’s representative on one occasion in July about a partial collection but had not experienced any further issues.

Mr X’s complaint

17. On 16 August 2023, Mr X complained to the Council that it had not returned his garden waste bin to his property.
18. The Council replied on the same day. It apologised to Mr X and confirmed he remained on the monitoring list.
19. On 7 September 2023, Mr X complained to the Council that it had not returned his mixed recycling bin to his property. Mr X told the Council he wished to refer his complaint to the Ombudsman.
20. The Council replied on 11 September 2023 and said it would highlight the latest issue to the waste collection team. It said the Ombudsman was still involved with Mr X’s previous complaint and said Mr X could therefore contact the Ombudsman regarding his ongoing concerns.
21. Mr X brought his complaint to the Ombudsman shortly after.

What happened next

22. In November 2023, the Council told the Ombudsman it had further extended the monitoring period regarding the collection of Mr X’s bins.

Analysis

23. Mr X said that despite the Council’s monitoring of his waste collection, there were seven occasions when it carried out partial collections and/or failed to return his bins to the agreed point. Mr X said these issues only relate to the collection of recycling waste and that he has not experienced any issues with the collection of his normal household waste. Mr X said he did not report every incident of a partial collection or non-returned bin.
24. The Council’s records show two incidents, one in May 2023, the other in September 2023. The Council’s monitoring records of Mr X’s waste collections do not show the reported incident in August 2023.
25. The Council has acknowledged there were occasions when its waste collection team failed to return Mr X’s bins and/or carried out partial collections during the period of monitoring; the Council extended the monitoring period because of these incidents. It is positive the Council has continued to monitor the situation. However, the continued incidents of non-returned bins and partial collections is fault.
26. The Council says it cannot explain why the agreed actions resulting from Mr X’s previous complaint have not led to consistent waste collections. Regarding the partial collections, it says this may be due to items being wedged in the bin resulting in them not being fully emptied. The Council says this is an oversight by the crew. It has suggested taking photographs after each collection and extending the monitoring period for six months.
27. It is disappointing that despite extensive periods of monitoring, the Council is still not routinely returning and is not fully emptying Mr X’s recycling bins. The Council's monitoring in its current format has been ineffective in identifying and resolving the issues; it is not sufficient to simply record failings in service and extend monitoring. There are also concerns about the accuracy of the Council’s records as the incident acknowledged by the Council in August 2023 does not appear on its monitoring records.
28. Having identified fault, I must consider whether this caused an injustice to Mr X. He says the Council’s actions have caused him avoidable frustration and uncertainty as to whether the collections will be carried out properly.

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Agreed action

29. To address the injustice identified, the Council has agreed to take the following action within one month of the final decision:
1. Provide an apology to Mr X for the fault identified. We publish guidance on remedies which sets out our expectations for how organisations should apologise effectively to remedy injustice. The organisation should consider this guidance in making the apology I have recommended in my findings;
2. Make a symbolic payment of £300 to Mr X in recognition of the frustration and uncertainty caused, and
3. Remind staff to accurately record reports of missed or partial collections and non-returned bins.
30. The Council has also agreed to take the following further action within three months of the final decision:
1. Review its waste collection monitoring arrangements to ensure they are robust and effective in identifying and resolving any problems, and
2. Produce an action plan to identify ways of improving its staff performance regarding its waste collection service. The action plan should include a timeframe for any action to be taken.
31. The Council has also agreed to retain its monitoring of Mr X’s waste collections for six months from the date of the final decision, including taking photographs of each collection to ensure the successful collection and return of Mr X’s bins.
32. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

33. I have found fault by the Council and the Council has agreed to take the above action to resolve this complaint. I have therefore concluded my investigation.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman