Summary: Mrs X complains the Council has failed to take effective or appropriate action to stop her neighbours permanently leaving their wheelie bins and side waste outside the front of their property. There is no evidence of fault in the way the Council has dealt with Mrs X’s concerns about her neighbours’ wheelie bins.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mrs X complains the Council has failed to take effective or appropriate action to stop her neighbours permanently leaving their wheelie bins and side waste outside 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 documents provided by Mrs X;
• made enquiries of the Council and considered the comments and documents the Council provided; and
• Mrs 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

What happened here

5. Residents are expected to store the bins on their property and only present them for collection by 5.30 am on their collection day, or after 3:30pm the day before. But Mrs X complains her neighbours permanently leave their bins on the pavement and never return them to their property. Mrs X’s neighbours’ property is on a corner of two streets. Their address is Y street, but their front door opens on to Z street. Mrs X states her neighbours should present their bins on Z street, by their front door, but they continually leave them on Y street close to Mrs X’s property. She complains the bins are frequently full or overflowing, and smell and look unsightly. There are also often also rubbish bags next to the bins which attract animals and create further mess.
6. Mrs X is unhappy the Council has allowed her neighbours to have wheelie bins when it had previously told her they are not suitable in this location. There are double yellow lines on both streets at this junction and the bins cannot be stored at the front of the property.
7. In early August 2019 Mrs X made a formal complaint to the Council. She asked the Council to remove her neighbours’ wheelie bins and to ask them to only leave their rubbish outside their front door the night before it is due to be collected.
8. Mrs X made a further complaint later that month as the Council had not resolved the problem. Mrs X also asked the Council if she could have wheelie bins. Mrs X chased the Council in September 2019 as she had not received a response. She also contacted the Chief Executive of the Council.
9. In its response, the Council told Mrs X that officers had visited her neighbours three times, and on the last occasion had spoken to them. Officers made them aware of the concerns and issues around storing bins on the street and excess waste. Mrs X’s neighbours had assured the officers the issues would be addressed and they would store the bins on their property. The Council told Mrs X it would monitor the property and if there were any other issues it may be an option to withdraw the wheelie bins.
10. The Council wrote to Mrs X’s neighbours again in November 2019 reminding them to only put their bins out after 3.30pm on the day before collection. And to return them to their property when they are empty. The Council advised Mrs X’s neighbours that where the problem persists the Council may issue residents who do not comply with a formal notice under Section 46 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, which may lead to a fine if breached.
11. Mrs X contacted the Council again in late December 2019 as her neighbours were still leaving their bins in front of her property all the time. Mrs X questioned why the Council provided her neighbours with wheelie bins but refused to provide them to Mrs X.
12. The Council confirmed it had visited her neighbours again but had been unable to speak with them. Senior management would now contact her neighbours to rectify the matter. The Council also confirmed it would consider providing Mrs X with wheelie bins if she agreed to store them on her property. Mrs X confirmed she would store the bins at the back of her house and queried whether the Council would now remove her neighbours’ bins as they leave them on the street. Mrs X also sent the Council details of Government guidance on when councils could issue fixed penalties.
13. As the Council did not respond, and her neighbours continued to leave their bins on the street outside Mrs X’s house, Mrs X has asked the Ombudsman to investigate her complaint.
14. In response to my enquiries the Council confirmed Mrs X’s neighbour’s presentation point changed to their back gate on Z Street in March 2020. The Council considered removing Mrs X’s neighbours’ bins but decided this would be counterproductive. If the property reverted to sack collections it could lead to a new problem if the sacks were left on the street for lengthy periods.
15. The Council states it manages and responds to problems associated with household refuse presentation and collection using an education and engagement approach, where possible. It notes the Environmental Protection Act does not impose a statutory duty on the Council to take an enforcement approach or to use Section 46 to serve legal notices or issue fines.
16. Although the Council considers the engagement and education approach is the most effective approach, it does refer to Section 46 in correspondence. The Council feels it is necessary and appropriate to advise recipients that enforcement penalties exist and that there are potential sanctions if non-compliance is repeatedly evidenced. It states the Council will consider enforcement options where other avenues have been exhausted. But the trigger threshold has to be that the legal nuisance, obstruction, or amenity threshold has been met. Enforcement action is not generally possible simply because the Council continues to receive complaints.
17. The Council states that even if it took an enforcement approach, using Section 46, this case does not meet the legal parameters for enforcement. The Council does not consider that in this case leaving the wheelie bins on the street causes a significant obstruction or restricts access to the pavement. Nor does it consider that the bins in themselves, particularly when they have been emptied, could give rise to a nuisance.
18. In relation to Mrs X’s concerns about side waste, the Council states it has no evidence of this causing a problem, and certainly not a continuous problem. It states that in general where the Council encounters side waste issues it will consider and re-assess where necessary the size of the containers it provides. It will also work with the householder regarding alternative presentation points, which is what happened in this instance.
19. The Council has not been in contact with Mrs X’s neighbours since March 2020. It states it will speak to the collection crews to get feedback, and if necessary, the Waste Prevention service will contact Mrs X’s neighbours.
20. Mrs X is unhappy that her neighbours permanently leave their bins outside their property, and now cause a nuisance on Z street.

Analysis

21. The documentation available shows the Council has responded to Mrs X’s complaints about her neighbours’ bins being left continuously on the street outside her property. I recognise Mrs X is unhappy with the Council’s approach and would like it to take enforcement action, but there is no evidence of fault in the way the Council has dealt with this matter.
22. The Council is not obliged to take enforcement action and its actions here are consistent with its engagement and education approach. Officers have visited and written to Mrs X’s neighbours and have agreed a new presentation point, away from Mrs X’s property, on Z street. The Council has also considered removing Mrs X’s neighbours’ bins but has decided this would not assist the situation. Decisions on whether a property is suitable for wheelie bins, and whether they should be removed are a matter for the Council. Mrs X may disagree with the Council’s decision, but there is no evidence of fault in the way it was taken.
23. Even if the Council adopted an enforcement approach, it does not consider the circumstances meet the threshold and would not have taken action in this instance. The Council does not consider the bins cause a significant obstruction, or a nuisance; or that there is sufficient evidence that any side waste causes a continuous problem. Although Mrs X disagrees with this decision, it is one the Council is entitled to reach.

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Final decision

24. There is no evidence of fault in the way the Council has dealt with Mrs X’s concerns about her neighbours’ bins.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman