Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about changes to her household waste and recycling collections. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault causing injustice to warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Mrs X, complains about changes to her household waste and recycling collections. The new arrangements mean the Council will collect waste from the front of Mrs X’s property, rather than the rear.

Back to top

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’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe:

• it is unlikely we would find fault, or
• the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council, or
• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

3. I considered Mrs X’s complaint to the Ombudsman and the information she provided. I also gave Mrs X the opportunity to comment on a draft statement before reaching a final decision on her complaint.

Back to top

What I found

4. Mrs X’s household waste and recycling was previously collected from the rear of her property. In October 2019, the Council wrote to Mrs X and her neighbours to say there would be changes to the service. Waste and recycling containers would need to be placed at the point where “individual properties meet the adopted public highway.” An assisted bin collection service was available for households if there was no one in the household who could physically place their waste containers at the edge of the premises.
5. Mrs X complained to the Council and said residents’ health and safety would be at risk by “being exposed to rotting waste and obstacles of waste receptacles.” Mrs X was unhappy the Council had not spoken with residents – and had instead consulted with three local councillors. Mrs X was unhappy she had previously paid her GP twenty pounds for a letter to qualify for an assisted collection. Mrs X wanted the Council to reverse its decision.
6. The Council responded to complaints from Mrs X. It explained the changes had been made to ensure the safety of staff. The Council said that even if residents had been consulted directly, the changes would still have been necessary. The Council’s normal policy of collecting waste from the boundary of the property where it meets the highway would not apply. Bins would instead be collected from the front of the property – which effectively meant all residents had assisted collection status. There would be no need to return bins to the rear of the property. The Council recognised Mrs X disagreed with the changes but said they had been made with “clear rationale and reasoning.”
7. The Ombudsman does not investigate all the complaints we receive. In deciding whether to investigate, we need to consider the likelihood of finding fault. We also need to consider the alleged injustice to the person complaining.
8. I understand Mrs X is unhappy with the new arrangements for collecting her waste. But for the Ombudsman to become involved, there would need to be clear fault in the Council’s decision-making process. We have no powers to question decisions that have been properly taken. The Council has explained its decision to Mrs X and the rationale behind the new arrangements. It is for individual councils, not the Ombudsman, to decide how and when they will collect household waste. Mrs X would have liked to have been consulted about the new arrangements, but as the Council has explained, this would not have changed its decision. Also, Mrs X still receives an assisted collection, albeit not on the terms she would like. On balance, I do not think there is enough evidence of fault causing injustice to warrant an investigation by the Ombudsman.

Back to top

Final decision

9. The Ombudsman will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault causing injustice to warrant an investigation.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman