Birmingham City Council (19 017 224)

Statement Not upheld Refuse and recycling 25-Sep-2020

Summary: Mrs X complains the Council has failed to take effective or appropriate action to stop her neighbours permanently leaving their wheelie bins and side waste outside the front of their property. There is no evidence of fault in the way the Council has dealt with Mrs X’s concerns about her neighbours’ wheelie bins.

Aylesbury Vale District Council (19 020 023)

Statement Upheld Refuse and recycling 23-Sep-2020

Summary: Miss B complains of repeated failures by the Council to remove her household waste. She says the operatives do not always empty the wheeled bin completely and sometimes put other households’ waste in her bin before emptying. Sometimes she is left with waste in the bin and she considers the practice of putting other waste in her bin to be unhygienic. There was some fault in service provision which the Council responded to appropriately. Further investigation is not warranted.

Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council (19 020 860)

Statement Upheld Refuse and recycling 23-Sep-2020

Summary: Miss X complained the Council failed to collect the bins from her house on numerous occasions within the first few months of 2020. Miss X also complained about the way in which the Council has handled her complaint. The Council was at fault for not collecting Miss X’s bins and delays in arranging catch-up collection. The Council has resolved the bin collection issue in April 2020. The Council has agreed to provide Miss X with an apology and £100 to recognise the distress, time and trouble caused.

North Somerset Council (20 002 213)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Refuse and recycling 22-Sep-2020

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaints about the Council’s waste disposal services. This is because it is unlikely we would find fault, the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement and it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome. There is also another body better placed to consider parts of his complaint.

London Borough of Tower Hamlets (19 012 831)

Statement Upheld Refuse and recycling 21-Sep-2020

Summary: Mr C complains the Council repeatedly failed to collect his general waste, food waste and recycling on the scheduled days or respond in a timely way to his reports of missed collections. Mr C says his bins overflow and the area is unsightly and unhygienic and he has spent unnecessary time and trouble in reporting the issues. The Ombudsman has found fault by the Council but considers the agreed actions of an apology, small payment and period of evidenced monitoring are enough to provide a suitable remedy.

North Devon District Council (19 012 521)

Statement Not upheld Refuse and recycling 21-Sep-2020

Summary: There is insufficient injustice caused to Mrs B after minor errors in her garden refuse collection to continue to investigate. The Council has apologised for a missed collection and letter sent about the wrong use of a permit. Mrs B’s complaints about mud at the side of the road have been responded to by the Council. The Council has explained its position and further investigation is not likely to change its view (the result Mrs B wants), so the investigation is discontinued.

Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (20 003 456)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Refuse and recycling 17-Sep-2020

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Miss B’s complaint about collections of bulky items. This is because, following the Council’s offer of a refund, any remaining injustice Miss B has suffered is not significant enough to justify the Ombudsman’s involvement.

Trafford Council (20 003 046)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Refuse and recycling 15-Sep-2020

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s requirement for residents to place their bins for collection next to the complainant’s home. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council (19 010 363)

Statement Upheld Refuse and recycling 14-Sep-2020

Summary: the Council failed to collect Ms B’s bin under its assisted collection scheme as agreed and delayed responding to her complaint. That caused Ms B to have to go to time and trouble to pursue her complaint. An apology and payment to Ms B is satisfactory remedy.

Plymouth City Council (20 002 066)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Refuse and recycling 10-Sep-2020

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr G’s complaint about the poor standard of behaviour of Council staff, its misleading information and refusal of entry into a Household Waste Recycling Centre using his van. This is because it is unlikely we could achieve more than the remedy the Council has already provided.