Summary: Mr B complains that the Council failed to collect his recycling bin and regularly empty the bins in his local park. The Ombudsman finds the Council was at fault in failing to collect Mr B’s recycling bin over a period of three months and failing to regularly empty the bins in the park. It also delayed in responding to Mr B’s complaint. However, the Council has resolved the problems and provided an appropriate remedy for the injustice caused.

The complaint

1. Mr B complains that the Council failed to collect his recycling bin for approximately three months and that the bins in his local park were not emptied regularly and were overflowing. He also says the Council failed to meet the timescales set out in its complaints procedure.

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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. I have considered all the information provided by Mr B and information on the Council’s website.
5. I have written to Mr B and the Council with my draft decision and given them an opportunity to comment.

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What I found

Bin collections

6. In March 2018 the Council changed its bin collections so that garden and food waste were collected fortnightly on alternate weeks. Refuse and recycling collections continued to be made weekly.
7. Mr B complained to the Council on numerous occasions that, although his general waste was being collected regularly, his recycling bin was not being collected at all. The matter was resolved in June 2019 after he made a formal complaint.
8. The Council has explained that, because of an administrative error, the waste operations team failed to pass details for Mr B’s new build property to the recycling team even though details were passed to the refuse team. As a result, his refuse bins were collected but not his recycling bins.
9. Officers visited Mr B’s property and met with the recycling collection crew to show them where the bins were located and advise them of the collection day. Officers also agreed to monitor Mr B’s collections to ensure matter was resolved.
10. The Council apologised to Mr B for any inconvenience and distress caused and offered to pay him £100 in recognition of the loss of amenity caused by the delay in resolving the matter.
11. Mr B considers this payment to be insufficient to remedy the injustice he suffered. He says he spent a lot of time and effort resolving the matter and had to store rubbish in his home. He also had to make several trips to the recycling centre. He says the issue caused him a great deal of stress.
12. I am satisfied the Council has taken action to resolve the problem. I am also satisfied that it’s apology together with the payment of £100 is in line with remedies the Ombudsman has recommended in similar cases and in line with the Ombudsman’s guidance on remedies. I do not therefore intend to pursue this issue further.

Bins in the park

13. On 2 May 2019 Mr B complained to the Council that bins in his local park were not being emptied regularly. As a result, they were overflowing and people’s dogs, including his own, were going through the rubbish.
14. The Council responded on 27 August 2019. It explained that the park was covered by mobile teams throughout the weekend with extended operating hours during the summer. It said additional bins would be installed in the park and park teams would continue to monitor the area. The Council also explained that it was in the process of reviewing its recycling and other waste initiatives to support the use and cleanliness of its parks and open spaces.
15. This matter has now been resolved. I do not consider it appropriate for the Council to make a payment to Mr B in respect of this matter because there is no evidence to suggest it caused him a personal injustice above and beyond that experienced by other users of the park.

The Council’s response to Mr B’s complaint

16. Mr B made a formal complaint to the Council on 1 May 2019. The complaint was processed for early resolution. However, Mr B received no response and sent another email on 26 May 2019 chasing a response and raising new issues. The Council logged this as another complaint with a different reference number. Mr B did not receive a response and telephoned the Council. The Council issued a stage 1 response to Mr B’s complaint of 1 May 2019 on 18 June 2019. Under the Council’s complaints procedure, it should have sent an acknowledgement within three working days and a stage 1 response within a further 10 working days. So, this was a significant delay.
17. The Council’s complaints team sent a response to Mr B’s email of 26 May 2019 on 21 June 2019. Mr B was not happy with the Council’s response and asked for his complaint to be escalated to stage 2 of the complaints procedure at the end of June 2019. The complaint was passed to the head of public realm on 15 July 2019 and an acknowledgement was sent to Mr B the following day. A final review response was sent to Mr B on 27 August 2019. Under the Council’s complaints process, Mr B should have received a Stage 2 response within 35 working days. The Council issued its stage 2 response six working days later than this which is not a significant delay.
18. I find the Council has failed to comply with the timescales set out in its own complaints procedure. The Council has offered to pay Mr B £100 in recognition of the time and trouble he was put to in chasing a response to his complaint. I consider this to be a satisfactory remedy for the injustice caused. So, I will not pursue this issue further.

Final decision

19. I find the Council was at fault in failing to collect Mr B’s recycling bin over a period of three months and failing to regularly empty the bins in his local park. I also find it delayed in responding to Mr B’s complaint. However, I am satisfied the Council has provided an appropriate remedy for the injustice caused to Mr B.
20. I have completed my investigation on the basis I am satisfied with the Council’s actions.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman