Summary: Mr X complains the Council failed to collect bulky waste items he had paid the Council to remove. The Council’s failure to collect bulky waste items from the rear of Mr X’s property does not amount to fault.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mr X complains the Council failed to collect bulky waste items he had paid the Council to remove. He states the prolonged failure to collect these items led to other people dumping waste on the street next to these items

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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 documents provided by Mr X;
• made enquiries of the Council and considered the comments and documents the Council provided; and
• sent a statement setting out my draft decision to Mr X and the Council and invited their comments.

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What I found

Bulky waste collections

5. The Council will collect bulky waste such as mattresses, sofas and white goods including fridges, freezers and washing machines. It charges a fee for this service and will take up to ten items for each collection booked.
6. The Council asks residents to put all the items for collection at the front of their property, and to make sure all the items can be easily seen by the collection team.

What happened here

7. On 19 May 2019 Mr X asked the Council to collect two armchairs, two beds and two mattresses. He paid the fee and the collection was arranged for 7 June 2019.
8. Mr X had left the waste at the rear of his property and when the Council did not collect it, he contacted the Council to complain. Mr X stated his neighbours were complaining the waste was causing an obstruction and were concerned it would attract fly tipping. He asked the Council to collect the waste as soon as possible.
9. The Council apologised for any inconvenience caused and confirmed it had alerted the manager who would arrange a collection as soon as possible. As the waste was still not collected, Mr X asked for his complaint to be reviewed. In its response the Council advised the collection crew had attempted to collect the waste again on 14 June 2019 but had advised the items were not left out. The Council intended to make a further collection on 21 June 2019. It advised Mr X that items should be left at the front of the property and clearly identifiable.
10. As the Council did not collect the waste, Mr X contacted the Council again and provided photographs showing the items left at his property. The Council confirmed the crew would visit again on 28 June 2019 but noted that on their last visit the crew had been unable to locate the items. It also noted Mr X’s photographs appeared to show the items at the side of his property, when they should be presented for collection at the front of Mr X’s property.
11. On 30 June 2019 Mr X contacted the Council again to report the items had still not been collected. The Council confirmed it had contacted the depot again and asked for the waste to be cleared.
12. Mr X has asked the Ombudsman to investigate his complaint as the waste has still not been collected. In response to my enquiries the Council states Mr X has left the items in an alleyway behind his property. It only collects bulky waste from the front of properties, and it is impractical for a crew to collect the items from where Mr X has left them. They would have to carry the items a long way back to the vehicle which would be parked on a busy high street. The Council notes that bulky waste items are generally heavy, and the Council must be mindful of the health and welfare of its staff.
13. The Council offered to collect the items in December 2019 if Mr X left them at the front of his property. Mr X declined to move the items, as the front of his property is a commercial area and they items were too heavy to carry. As the Council cannot make the collection from the rear of Mr X’s property, it has refunded his fee.

Analysis

14. I recognise Mr X is disappointed the Council has not collected his waste, but I do not consider this was due to fault on the part of the Council.
15. The Council has attempted to collect Mr X’s waste but could not find it as it was at the back rather than the front of his property. The Council’s bulky waste collection service makes it clear that items should be presented at the front of a property and should be clearly identifiable. The Council also reiterated this in its email correspondence with Mr X.
16. As the Council is unable to collect the bulky waste from the alleyway at the rear of Mr X’s property, it has refunded his fee for the service. This is an appropriate response.

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Final decision

17. The Council’s failure to collect bulky waste items from the rear of Mr X’s property does not amount to fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman