Birmingham City Council (19 000 048)

Category : Environment and regulation > Refuse and recycling

Decision : Not upheld

Decision date : 21 Aug 2019

The Ombudsman's final decision:

Summary: Mrs X complains the Council has wrongly refused to allow her to continue using bags for her garden waste and has insisted she use a wheelie bin. There is no evidence of fault in the Council’s decision to provide Mrs X with a wheelie bin for her garden waste.

The complaint

  1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mrs X complains the Council has wrongly refused to allow her to continue using bags for her garden waste and has insisted she use a wheelie bin. Mrs X asserts it is unsafe to store another wheelie bin at her property, and that she would not be able to lift the garden waste into the wheelie bin.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

  1. 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 an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
  2. If we are satisfied with a council’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

  1. As part of the investigation, I have:
    • considered the complaint and the documents provided by Mrs X;
    • made enquiries of the Council and considered the comments and documents the Council provided;
    • discussed the issues with Mrs X;
    • sent a statement setting out my draft decision to Mrs X and the Council and invited their comments. I have considered Mrs X and the Council’s response.

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What I found

Garden waste collections

  1. The Council runs a fortnightly garden waste collection service between March and December. The Council charges a fee for this service and it is only available to customers who have subscribed for the service in advance.
  2. Prior to 2019 residents could choose whether to have wheelie bins or sack collections for their garden waste. In January 2019 the Council changed its policy and now no longer offers sack collections to properties which are suitable for wheelie bins.

What happened here

  1. Mrs X has subscribed to the garden waste service for several years and has used the sacks rather than a wheelie bin.
  2. As Mrs X has wheelie bins for her household waste and recycling, the Council informed Mrs X that if she renewed her garden waste subscription it would provide a wheelie bin for the garden waste.
  3. Mrs X was unhappy with this and asked the Council to allow her to continue to use sacks. The Council confirmed that customers with wheelie bin collections for household waste and recycling were no longer able to opt for garden sack collections. It confirmed it had checked Mrs X’s property was suitable for a garden bin service. Mrs X receives assisted collections and the Council confirmed this would extend to the garden waste collections.
  4. The Council expected Mrs X to store the bin at the front of her property in the same way as the household and recycling bins are. It recommended Mrs X carry the garden waste in a bag from the rear garden and empty the contents into the garden waste bin.
  5. Mrs X was not happy with the Council’s response and asked for her complaint to be reviewed. She said she could not wheel the bin from the back of her property to the front and was unable to lift sacks into the bin. Mrs X preferred sack collection as she could drag the sacks. The Council maintained Mrs X’s property was suitable for wheelie bins and she was no longer able to opt for garden sack collection.
  6. Mrs X has asked the Ombudsman to investigate her complaint. She states there is no room next to the other bins for a third. Mrs X is concerned that as her drive slopes steeply down towards the road there is a risk that a bin at the front of her property could roll or be blown down on to the road. Mrs X also remains concerned that she would be unable to lift and empty a sack of garden waste into a wheelie bin.
  7. In response to my enquiries the Council states it has assessed Mrs X’s property as suitable for wheelie bins. It considers there is ample storage at the front of Mrs X’s property, including a garage. The Council considers the bin could be stored next to or near the current set of bins.
  8. In addition, it notes Mrs X has had household and recycling bins for almost four years and has not complained to the Council about them rolling or being blown down the drive. As the garden waste bin is the same size as these bins, the Council considers it would be unlikely to roll or be blown down the drive.
  9. Mrs X has responded to the draft decision and identified a resident she asserts the Council has allowed to continue to use sacks even though her property is suitable for bins. Mrs X believes the Council is inconsistent in its application of its policy. The Council has confirmed the property Mrs X has identified it not suitable for wheelie bins. There is insufficient storage space for bins and there are steep steps at the front of the property. This property is on sack and box collection.
  10. The Council states each property is assessed for suitability of bins on its own merit. The decision can be different for properties on the same street as it depends on the frontage and the width of a property. The Council states it has not made any exceptions for the 2019 garden waste service.

Analysis

  1. When considering complaints, we may not act like an appeal body. We cannot generally question the merits of the decision the Council has made or offer any opinion on whether or not we agree with the judgment of the Councils’ officers. Instead, we focus on the process by which the decision was made.
  2. Mrs X disagrees with the Council’s decision that she can no longer use garden waste sacks. But this is a decision the Council is entitled to make. The decision is in line with the Council’s current policy on garden waste collections, and there is no evidence of fault in the way it was taken. Mrs X already uses wheelie bins for her household waste and recycling and has not reported problems in using or storing them. She would prefer not to have a third bin at her property, but the Council is satisfied Mrs X’s property is suitable for bins and that a further bin can be stored there.
  3. Mrs X receives assisted collections, and this service would extend to the garden waste collections.

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Final decision

  1. There is no evidence of fault in the Council’s decision to provide Mrs X with a wheelie bin for her garden waste.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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