Summary: Mr X complains the Council has failed to collect his recycling. He says the Council has not effectively addressed his complaints about this issue. The Council is at fault. It has failed to complete recycling bin collections or effectively address Mr X’s complaints about that failure, which is an injustice We have suggested a remedy.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains that the Council has:

• failed to collect his recycling bins.
• failed to address his complaints about this effectively. He says this has caused him an injustice because his recycling has repeatedly not been collected.

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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. We investigate complaints about councils and certain other bodies. Where an individual, organisation or private company is providing services on behalf of a council, we can investigate complaints about the actions of these providers. (Local Government Act 1974, section 25(7), as amended)
4. When considering complaints, if there is a conflict of evidence, we make findings based on the balance of probabilities. This means that we will weigh up the available relevant evidence and base our findings on what we think was more likely to have happened.
5. 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

6. I spoke with the complainant
7. I made enquiries with the Council and researched the relevant law.
8. I gave both the complainant and the Council the opportunity to comment on my draft decision.

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What I found

What should happen

9. Section 45 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (’The EPA’) says councils have a duty to collect household waste.

The Council’s refuse collection approach

10. The Council says it provides a weekly collection of co-mingled dry recycling to houses via a wheeled bin or recycling sacks. From flats the service is provided via a communal bin. This applies to Mr X’s case.
11. It has an agreement with a contractor to manage this service. One of the clauses in the contract says that, if there is an obstruction to the collection vehicle caused by parking, this should not stop the contractor carrying out the collection. Where access is prevented on the first attempt, the contractor should re-attempt the same day. Where access is prevented on the second attempt, the contractor should return the next day to try again. If the contractor has tried three times, the collection will not be deemed a missed collection. Employees should ensure that, on each occasion that access is prevented, the details of the location and access issues should be reported.

What happened

12. Mr X lives in the Council’s area. He says that, from December 2018, the Council has provided an inadequate refuse service.
13. The records show that in December 2018 an officer visited and noted that the recycling bins had not been collected. She emailed the contractor about this, asking for them to be collected urgently.
14. The Councils records show there were missed collections in February 2019. Mr X said he put off complaining initially but then complained in February 2019.
15. I have not been given a record of Mr X’s complaints at the time but he says he received an email assuring him his complaint was being dealt with in early March 2019. He says that an officer came out to inspect the area and he was told the Council would monitor the location to make sure collections took place as scheduled. He says a collection was made in May and then after that the refuse started to pile up again.
16. There are then no records of missed collections until July 2019. There was a reported missed collection on 4 July 2019. It was noted that it was ‘unable to complete’.
17. This reportedly happened again a week later and again the following week.
18. On 14 August 2019, it was reported that bins were contaminated and so contractors were unable to collect. However, it was recorded that the collection went ahead two days later.
19. Another missed collection was reported two weeks later. It was recorded that this was completed the next day.
20. A week later, it was reported that there were no bin collections on the whole street. This was recorded as being completed the following day.
21. A few weeks later, Mr X reported another missed collection. It was reported that contractors were ‘unable to complete’.
22. In December 2019 it was reported that the bins were not collected because of contamination, but it was recorded that they were completed two days later.

Mr X’s complaint to the Council

23. Mr X complained about the missed collections formally in August 2019. He was unhappy with the Council’s response. He said that he had been told that a lorry had been blocking his bin stall but he did not think this was the case.
24. In its stage two response to Mr X the Council said it wasn’t that a lorry was blocking the stall but that it was blocking access to the road further down. He was told this prevented trucks from entering his street. He was informed that there were two issues with collection:

• His street is narrow and this makes it difficult for trucks to enter and
• Parked cars on either side of the street also hinder access.

25. The Council says that recycling trucks are wider than domestic refuse trucks and that is why they have found difficulties collecting waste, when domestic waste trucks have not experienced problems.
26. Mr X says that sometimes, if bin men cannot get access to the street, they wheel the domestic bins up the street. He said he could not understand why this cannot be done with the recycling bins. I asked the Council this question. In response it said that the recycling vehicle is wider than the waste vehicle which makes it difficult for the recycling vehicle to get into a narrow access. It said it would be getting a new vehicle to alleviate the problem.
27. It also said that, as there is no dropped kerb, if cars park close to the kerb, crews are unable to bring the bins to the kerb to empty. It added that parents drop their children at a nearby school and this means that the crew are unable to ‘get the swing’ to take the bins to the truck.
28. The Council said it had liaised with the Highways Team to put forward a suggestion of adding an additional yellow line leading up to the parking bays. It said that this should deter any further illegal parking, which is currently preventing the trucks from turning into the road. It said, “our waste team has now actively engaged with Highways in an attempt to put this into action.”
29. I asked the Council to produce the records showing the Councils discussions with its Highways team. I have not been provided with any records.
30. There are no records showing the Council discussed the missed collections with contractors.
31. However, it does appear the Council has made some efforts to arrange for a dropped kerb to be installed, as a way of improving access to the bin stall. Since issuing my draft decision, the Council has taken further steps to try and arrange the installation of a dropped kerb.

Analysis

32. The evidence indicates Mr X was experiencing some problems with bin collections in December 2018. He did not complain about this until February 2019. At that time, he says, an officer visited the area and monitoring was planned. However, he says that refuse piled up again and he had to complain again in July 2019. It is clear that the problems were not addressed effectively. On the evidence seen so far, this is fault.
33. The Council says there are problems with collections because of the width of the street and the difficulties with access. But the Council has a duty to collect refuse and it should have made greater efforts to remedy the situation.
34. The Council’s response to Mr X’s query about why, when there is difficulty with access, the bin men could not wheel the bins to their trucks, is not satisfactory. It does not explain why those who collect the refuse could not use the same strategy as those who collect domestic waste, when there are access problems.
35. It is also concerning that the Council sought to reassure Mr X that it was doing all it could to resolve the issues by liaising with its Highways Team, but there is no evidence of this having happened.
36. The Council also says it has no records of discussions it might have had with contractors about the missed collections. This means there is no evidence that the Council was doing what it could to remedy the situation.
37. I am encouraged that the Council has provided evidence that it has considered using a dropped kerb to improve access. But Mr X says the Council is still failing to ensure collections go ahead.
38. The Council is at fault in failing to comply with its statutory duty to collect household waste. It is also at fault for the way in which it has responded to Mr X’s complaint.

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Agreed actions

39. Within one week of my final decision, the Council should ensure Mr X’s recycling waste has been collected. It should provide dated timed photographs evidencing it has completed that collection.
40. Within one month of my final decision, the Council should:
1. Apologise to Mr X for the continued inconvenience he has suffered by the Council’s failure to address the issues with his bin collections.
2. Set up a system to monitor the bin collections at Mr X’s address, for two months. It should keep precise records detailing when collections were made, what problems arose (if they do) and what action was taken to remedy any difficulties. It should provide dated timed photographic evidence of any issues that may arise.
3. Liaise with its highway team to consider adding a yellow line and/or a dropped kerb. The Council should consider covering the cost of any work necessary to ensure it can comply with its statutory duty. If the Council does not think these steps are necessary, it should provide a statement setting out its reasons to the Ombudsman.
4. Pay Mr X the sum of £100 to acknowledge the time, trouble and distress he will have undergone in pursuing this complaint.

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Final decision

41. I have found the Council at fault and suggested a remedy. I have now completed my investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman