Summary: Mr and Mrs X complain the Council has repeatedly failed to collect their recycling since October 2018. The repeated failure to collect Mr and Mrs X’s recycling on the scheduled day or in a timely manner when collections are missed amounts to fault. As does the failure to properly investigate Mr and Mrs X’s complaint. These faults have caused Mr and Mrs X an injustice.

The complaint

1. The complainants, who I shall refer to as Mr and Mrs X complain the Council has repeatedly failed to collect their recycling on the scheduled day. They state that since October 2018 the recycling collection crew have refused to collect their bins from the front of their property.

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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 an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. 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

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

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What I found

Refuse and recycling collections

5. 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.
6. The Council's practice is to make a weekly household waste collection and a fortnightly recycling collection.
7. When a missed collection is reported to the Council, the Depot will ask the crew to return to complete the round as soon as possible. When the collection is complete, the Council closes the report.
8. At the end of December 2018 collection crews began industrial action. The Council introduced a contingency plan to make one collection for all waste types each week rather than separate collections of household waste and recycling. The crews began working to rule on 29 December 2018 and the first full day of industrial action was 19 February 2019.
9. The Council moved to a fortnightly collection for all waste types in February 2019. When the industrial action ended in mid-March 2019, the Council returned to weekly household and fortnightly recycling collections.

What happened here

10. Mr and Mrs X complain that since October 2018 the Council has repeatedly failed to collect their recycling. Mr and Mrs X live in a small cul-de-sac and state that the collection crews have always collected theirs, and their neighbours’ bins from in front of their properties. The collection crew for the household waste still walk up the short drive to the cul-de-sac to collect the bins. However, since October 2018 the collection crews for recycling have refused to collect the bins from their properties.
11. The Council states Mr and Mrs X reported five missed collections for the whole road between November 2018 and April 2019 but have not reported any further missed collections since. Another resident also reported missed collections for their own property and the whole road. The Council’s records suggest a total of 10 missed collections were reported on Mr and Mrs X’s road.
12. These reports are all closed which indicates the missed collections have since been made. The dates suggest the recycling was collected on the next scheduled collection day. Mr and Mrs X dispute that their recycling was collected.
13. In addition to reporting missed collections, Mr and Mrs X also made formal complaints. On 31 January 2019 Mr and Mrs X complained their recycling had not been collected since October 2018 and that this was their eighth call to report the problem. They confirmed their household waste was being collected, but not their recycling. The Council’s response apologised for the poor service and confirmed the service manager had spoken to the crew and instructed them to make all collections from their property.
14. As this did not resolve the problem, in April 2019 Mr and Mrs X asked the Council to consider their complaint further. The Council apologised for the ongoing problems and confirmed regular collections had now resumed but collections had been disrupted by operational issues.
15. Mr and Mrs X are not satisfied by the Council’s response and have asked the Ombudsman to investigate their complaint. They state they were told by the collection crew that the vehicle does not fit down their road and the crew does not have time to walk up to collect and return the bins. Mr and Mrs X state that collection vehicle has never been able to get down their road so for over forty years the collection crew had walked down to collect and return their bins. Mr and Mrs X state that as the crews will no longer collect their recycling, they do not currently use the recycling bin or report missed collections.
16. In response to my enquiries the Council initially noted most of the reports of missed collections were during the period of industrial action and stated this was the reason for the disruption. The Council has since confirmed there have been no changes to the presentation point for properties on Mr and Mrs X’s road, and they are expected to present their bins outside their properties.
17. The Council has also confirmed that the collections crews have not been instructed to collect bins from anywhere other than the front of the properties on Mr and Mrs X’s road. The advice given to Mr and Mrs X by the recycling crew in October 2018 was incorrect and unauthorised.
18. To resolve this issue, the Council states each crew will be instructed to walk refuse and recycling bins down to the vehicle and return them to the original point after emptying. The Council will also issue crews with reminders in the form of a map with a hand-written note confirming where bins are to be collected from and returned to. The Council will monitor the collections for four weeks.

Analysis

19. It is clear from the documentation I have received that there have been repeated failings in the Council’s service which amount to fault.
20. I do not consider the Council’s records to be a reliable indication of when collections were missed, or when recycling was collected from Mr and Mrs X’s property. Although the Council states Mr and Mrs X only reported five missed collections, I consider it likely significantly more collections were missed. I note Mr and Mrs X’s complaint in January 2019 refers to their recycling not being collected since October 2018, and this being their eighth call to report problems.
21. It is also concerning that the reports were closed on the next scheduled collection dates when those collections also appear to have been missed. If the collection crew refused to walk up and collect the bins, neither the missed collections, nor the subsequent scheduled collections will have been made.
22. I also consider there to be fault in the way the Council has dealt with Mr and Mrs X’s complaints. Despite the Council’s assurances it had spoken to the crew members and regular collections would be made, the service did not improve, and the missed collections continued. It is a concern that the Council seems to have been unaware the recycling crew would not walk up the road to collect or return the bins. Had the Council properly investigated Mr and Mrs X’s complaint the crews unauthorised actions would have come to light sooner and the issue could have been resolved.
23. Having identified fault, I must consider whether this has caused Mr and Mrs X a significant injustice. They have had to find ways to manage the uncollected recycling left at their property for months. They have experienced frustration and disappoint both with the missed collections and the unsatisfactory responses to their complaints. They have also been put to unnecessary time and trouble in pursuing this matter.
24. I recognise the Council will now monitor Mr and Mrs X’s collections and would expect this to improve the service.

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Agreed action

25. The Council has agreed to apologise to Mr and Mrs X and pay them £200 in recognition of the frustration and difficulties the repeated failure to make regular recycling collections has caused.
26. The Council should carry out this action within one month of the final decision on this complaint.

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Final decision

27. The Council's repeated failure to collect Mr and Mrs X's recycling since October 2018 amounts to fault. As does the failure to properly investigate Mr and Mrs X's complaint. These faults have caused Mr and Mrs X an injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman