Summary: Miss X complains the Council repeatedly failed to collect the communal recycling from her development on the scheduled days or in a timely manner when collections were missed for a year. The Council’s repeated failure to make scheduled recycling collections over a sustained period amounts to fault. This fault has caused Miss X an injustice.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Miss X complains the Council has repeatedly failed to collect the communal recycling from her development on the scheduled days or in a timely manner when collections are missed since October 2018.

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

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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. In September 2018 the Council introduced a new operating model. Under this model, scheduled collection days remained the same, but the collection rounds/routes changed.
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.
10. 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.

What happened here

11. Miss X complains the Council repeatedly failed to collect the communal recycling from her development between October 2018 and November 2019. She states the Council only collected the recycling three times during this period which meant there were huge piles of accumulated waste.
12. The Council’s records show that Miss X reported five missed collections in 2018 but did not report any missed collections in 2019. Miss X states she did not report missed collections during or following the industrial action as she felt there would be no point. She states that rather than telephone the Council after each missed collection, she and the other residents made repeated complaints to the Council about the service.
13. Miss X complained to the Council about the missed recycling collections in late November 2018. She stated the recycling had not been collected since 15 October 2018, and the bins were overflowing and attracting pests. Miss X asked the Council to collect the recycling on the scheduled days. The Council apologised for the missed collections and any inconvenience caused. It advised it had implemented new routes across the city and this could have impacted on resources. Crews were working on new and different routes and it would inevitably take some time to bed in. The Council confirmed the service manager had spoken to the crew and instructed them to make collections from Miss X’s property.
14. As this did not resolve the problem, in March 2019 Miss X asked the Council to review her complaint. The Council advised it had spoken to the depot manager who would endeavour to return the scheduled fortnightly collections to Miss X’s development as a priority. The depot had advised the Council that Miss X’s collections may have been missed as part of the implementation of the 5-day working week, which resulted in a change of crew.
15. Miss X made a further complaint at the end of July 2019. She complained the Council had only collected their recycling twice in 2019 when there should have been around 14 collections by that point in the year. Miss X stated the Council collected the recycling from the rest of the street, but not the communal bins for her development. She also noted that a crew member had advised them that they had not been told to collect from Miss X’s address.
16. The Council refused to deal with this complaint as it raised the same issues as Miss X’s earlier complaint, which it had already dealt with.
17. Miss X has asked the Ombudsman to investigate her complaint. She states that by November 2019 they had only had three recycling collections, on 5 March, 29 April and 13 September 2019. The service improved in November 2019 and they have had regular fortnightly collections since 11 November 2019.
18. In response to my enquiries the Council states it would not regard Miss X’s reports of missed collections as a repeated failure. It states the missed recycling collections reported between October and December 2018 were primarily due to issues relating to the implementation of 5 day working. As Miss X has not reported further missed collections, the Council suggests that the problem with missed recycling collections has been satisfactorily resolved.
19. The Council has not commented on or referred to the formal complaints Miss X made regarding missed collections in 2018 and 2019.

Analysis

20. The Council states Miss X did not report any missed collections in 2019, and there is no evidence of repeated failures to collect the waste. But it is clear from Miss X’s correspondence with the Council and the documentation provided that there have been repeated issues with the recycling collection service. Miss X has made repeated complaints about missed collections of the communal recycling bins serving her development and the problems this creates.
21. The Council’s responses to her complaints do not dispute there have been missed collections or question Miss X’s claim in late July 2019 that the recycling had only been collected twice that year. Instead, the Council assured Miss X managers would speak to the crews to ensure the problem was resolved and they would get regular collections.
22. The Council’s refusal to deal with Miss X’s complaint in July 2019 is disappointing as the further complaint clearly shows the problem has not been resolved.
23. Based on the information available I consider there have been repeated failings in the Council’s recycling collection service which amount to fault. There is sufficient evidence the Council knew, or should have known, about the ongoing problems of missed recycling collections and accumulated waste at Miss X’s property.
24. I recognise the service has improved since Miss X complained to the Ombudsman, and this is to be welcomed. However, I consider the Council should have taken action sooner.
25. Having identified fault, I must now consider whether this has caused Miss X an injustice. Miss X has had to find ways to manage the uncollected recycling left at her property. She has also experienced frustration and disappointment, both with the missed collections and the Council’s failure to resolve the problem. Miss X has been put to unnecessary time and trouble in trying to resolve this matter.

Agreed action

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

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Final decision

28. The Council’s repeated failure to make scheduled recycling collections over a sustained period amounts to fault. This fault has caused Miss X an injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman