Summary: Ms B complains the Council failed to provide appropriate waste collection services from her property for a period between mid-June and September 2019. In addition, the Council failed to provide containers for the collection of separated recyclable waste despite a promise to do so. The Ombudsman finds there was fault by the Council in this matter causing injustice to Ms B, for which a remedy has been agreed.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Ms B, complains the Council failed to regularly collect household waste from her property for a period between mid-June and September 2019, and has failed to provide any containers for the collection of separated recyclable waste despite a promise to do so.

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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 considered all the information provided by Ms B about her complaint, including the council’s response to her complaint. I made written enquiries of the Council, at the same time putting forward a suggestion for remedy based on my understanding of the facts from the correspondence I had seen.
5. I provided Ms B and the Council with a draft of this decision and gave them the opportunity to comment on it.

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What I found

6. Ms B moved to new-build property in June 2019. No general refuse collection service was in place. When she contacted the Council about it she was advised it would be collected on a Saturday during a commercial collection round.
7. By 27 August no collection had been made. She complained to the Council about the build-up of refuse which was causing a fire hazard. She also complained there had been no recycling collection and that she had not been provided with recycling boxes. She wanted the Council to provide these and give clear information about the collection schedules for the different types of waste, and to take action to remove the accumulated refuse.
8. The Council issued its first-stage response to the complaint promptly. The waste services team referred to having spoken to Ms B and said that the accumulated waste would be collected on 31 August and thereafter household waste collections using the standard grey wheeled bins would be on alternate Saturday mornings with effect from 7 September. A calendar of waste collections had been provided. The Council noted access difficulties with the location but apologised for the service failure. It said all crews had been issued with a management instruction to report back to the office to confirm they had collected Ms B’s household waste for the next six weeks. Regarding recycling, the Council said it was looking at how to best provide a practicable recycling collection to this location and that this would be agreed the following week, after which Ms B would be informed in writing of the recycling collection schedule.
9. Ms B was not wholly satisfied with the response and so wrote back to the Council. When it responded the Council apologised for delay in doing so and it acknowledged that collection of waste had not been consistent but confirmed collections had been made as scheduled on 7 and 21 September and was due again on 5 October. Regarding recycling the Council confirmed it issues households with three boxes (for the collection of paper and card; glass; and plastic bottles and cans) and advised these would be delivered during week commencing 8 October 2018, together with information about the collection arrangements. It advised of the collection day and collection point and said the six-week management reporting would be put in place for this also.
10. By January 2020 Ms B had still not received the recycling boxes.

Analysis

11. The Council acknowledged when it responded to Ms B’s complaint that there had been failings in its waste collection service and delay in responding to her complaint at the second stage. Those failings were fault.
12. There were however further failings when assurances given in the second-stage complaint response about the provision of recycling boxes and the commencement of collection of recyclable waste were not fulfilled. The failure to provide this service and to keep the promise made was fault.
13. As a result of the identified failings in this case, Ms B has been put to some time and trouble in pursuing the matter and in responsibly disposing of her recycling elsewhere.

Agreed action

14. In recognition of the injustice identified above, I recommended that within four weeks of the date of the decision on this complaint the Council:

• Pay Ms B £150; and
• Provide her with three recycling boxes.

15. The Council agreed to these recommendations.

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Final decision

16. I have completed my investigation on the basis set out above.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman