Summary: Miss X complains the Council has failed to provide the agreed assisted collection service for almost a year. The Council’s failure to make regular assisted household waste and recycling collections 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 failed to provide the agreed assisted collection service for almost a year. Miss X complains that unless she is able to get someone to present her bins at the roadside, the Council does not empty her bins. When the bins are empty, the Council then leaves them at the roadside rather than returning them to the front of her property.

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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;
• Miss X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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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. The Council provides an assisted collection service for people who are unable to move their bins and boxes due to a disability or age. The Council should collect the bins from the storage point and return them to the same point.
8. When a resident reports a missed collection, the Depot will ask the crew to return to complete the round as soon as possible. When the Council has completed the collection, it closes the report.

What happened here

9. Miss X is unable to move the bins herself and states that unless she is able to get someone else to present her bins at the roadside, the Council does not collect her waste. When the Council does empty the bins it then leaves them at the roadside rather than returning them to the front of her property. Miss X complains there have been problems with the assisted collection service for almost a year. She is unhappy that despite reporting problems and making a complaint the service has not improved.
10. According to the Council’s records, Miss X reported four missed household waste collections and two missed recycling collections between July and early September 2019. It states Miss X has not reported any further missed collections. I have not received any information about Miss X’s reports that her bins have not been returned to her property.
11. Miss X made a formal complaint about the assisted collection service in September 2019. She complained the collection crew had emptied her bin, but not returned it to her property. The crew had left Miss X’s bin on the pavement with a note stating this is where she should leave it. Miss X asked the Council to provide the agreed assisted collection service by collecting and returning her bin.
12. The Council apologised and assured Miss X the depot was working on improving the level of service. The Council had raised the matter with the depot manager and had created visible reminders of Miss X’s assisted collections for the crews.
13. This did not resolve the problem so in November 2019 Miss X asked the Council to consider her complaint further as the crews were still not returning her bins to her property. The Council’s response confirmed it had escalated the complaint to the service manager. They would ensure Miss X’s collections were carried out as scheduled with the bins being collected and returned to Miss X’s property after emptying.
14. As Miss X continued to experience problems with her collections, she has asked the Ombudsman to investigate her complaint. Miss X states that despite her complaints, the Council still does not collect her bins or return them to her property after collection. Miss X cannot move the bins to the roadside herself and has to ask friends and neighbours to assist her. She states the Council only empties her bin if someone has presented them at the roadside for her.
15. In response to my enquiries the Council states it runs an assisted collection report at the start of each month with an updated list of all assisted collections. It then manually adds properties to each depot’s hard drive so they can print off and add this to crew information packs. Assisted collection properties also appear on the crew’s mobile technology. It has confirmed that Miss X has assisted collection status.
16. The Council also states the depot experienced resourcing difficulties from late 2018 to September 2019, which led to a number of missed and delayed collections. It suggests these issues have are now resolved as Miss X has not reported a missed collection since 3 September 2019.
17. Correspondence between the Council and the depot shows the Council reminded the depot again in January 2020 that Miss X should receive assisted collections and that her bins needed to be returned to her property. The depot confirmed there were reminders in place for the crews. It also noted the crew asserted Miss X’s property should not receive assisted collections.
18. The Council monitored Miss X’s collection between February and April 2020, and states there were no adverse reports during this period. Miss X disputes this and states there was no noticeable improvement in service during the monitoring period. She states the crews did not collect her bins, so they were only emptied when someone else put them out for her, and they still did not return her empty bins.

Analysis

19. It is clear from the Council’s records there have been failings in the assisted collection service. These failings in the service amount to fault.
20. The Council accepts it has missed collections, and that there will have been delays in making these missed collections. Its records show Miss X has reported a total of six missed collections, but I consider it likely the Council missed more collections.
21. The Council’s records only show when Miss X reported missed collections, it has not provided any details of reports of problems with the assisted collection service and bins not being returned.
22. The Council does not dispute that there have been issues with Miss X’s assisted collections. It has apologised and reminded crews to collect and return Miss X’s bins. It is therefore unclear why the crews repeatedly leave Miss X’s bins on the street rather then returning them to her property.
23. It is of concern that in response to reminders of the need to collect and return Miss X’s bins, the crews have suggested she should not receive assisted collections. Where the Council has agreed to provide an assisted collection service, we would expect the collection crews to ensure this is carried out. We would not expect the crews to form their own view on whether it is necessary to collect and return Miss X’s bins, or to leave notes directing where her bins should be left.
24. The Council monitored Miss X’s household waste and recycling collections for three months earlier in the year and states there were no adverse reports. It is unclear from the information provided what his monitoring involved, or how the Council satisfied itself the crews had completed the assisted collections. As set out above, Miss X states the service did not improve during the monitoring period.
25. Having identified fault, I must consider whether this has caused Miss X a significant injustice. Miss X has had to rely on other people to present and return her bins after collection, and when this has not been possible, she has had to manage the uncollected waste left at her property. She has experienced frustration and disappointment that despite her complaints and reporting of problems the bins are still not collected and returned. Miss X has also been put to time and trouble in pursuing 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 assisted household waste and recycling collections has caused.
• Implement a further three-month period of monitoring to ensure Miss X’s assisted collections are carried out properly with her bins being collected and returned to her property.
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 failure to make regular assisted household waste and recycling collections amounts to fault. This fault has caused Miss X an injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman