Summary: Miss X complains the Council repeatedly failed to make assisted collections of her recycling and garden waste. She also complains that when collections were made, the Council failed to return her bins to the correct place. Miss X says this caused her unnecessary stress and upset and left her with unsightly and unhygienic living conditions. The Ombudsman finds fault by the Council in this matter. The Council has agreed a remedy to address the injustice caused to Miss X.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains:

• the Council has repeatedly failed to collect her recycling and food/garden waste on the scheduled days, or promptly when collections are missed, and
• that although she should receive assisted collections, the Council fails to return her bins to the correct place after they are emptied. This has caused her stress and upset.

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’. 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)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

4. I discussed the complaint with Miss X and considered the information she provided.
5. I made enquiries to the Council and considered the information it provided.
6. Miss X and the Council had the opportunity to comment on a draft of this decision. I considered their comments before making a final decision.

Back to top

What I found

Refuse and recycling collections

7. 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 the councils can decide the type of bins or boxes people must use.
8. The Council’s waste collection policy says collections of household and recyclable rubbish are made every two weeks.
9. Residents are required to put their bins out for collection by 7am at the kerbside where they can be clearly seen. Bins will not be collected if rubbish is compacted, if bin lids cannot close, or bins are too heavy to safely be collected.
10. The Council says if bins are not collected, residents should receive a bin tag informing them of the reason why. If there is no bin tag, residents can report a missed collection online or over the telephone.
11. The Council provides an assisted collection service for people who are unable to move their bins to the collection point due to poor health, mobility issues or disability.

The Council’s complaints policy

12. The Council’s complaints policy says it will take all reasonable steps to resolve a complaint at stage one and will respond within 10 working days. Where this is not possible, the complainant will be sent an update with an estimate of the likely timescale for a response.
13. The policy says if the complainant is not satisfied with the outcome of the investigation at stage one, and they consider that one or more of the following apply:
• relevant information was not taken into account in investigating the complaint;
• procedures have not been properly applied in handling the complaint;
• there has been an incorrect interpretation of Council policy,

they can ask for the complaint to be reviewed at stage two.

14. The policy says the Council will normally respond to the complainant within 20 working days from receipt of the request for a stage two review. Where this is not possible, it says the Council will send an update with an estimate of the likely timescale for a response.

What happened

15. Miss X is disabled and says she finds it difficult to move her bins by herself. In April 2019, Miss X asked the Council to provide her with an assisted collection service. The Council agreed to Miss X’s request.
16. Later that month, Miss X told the Council her general waste bin had not been collected.
17. On 20 September 2019, Miss X contacted the Council again to say her recycling bin and her garden waste bin had not been collected. She contacted the Council again on 27 September 2019 to report her general waste bin had not been collected.
18. Miss X reported three further missed collections of her recycling bin during November 2019.
19. On 29 November 2019, Miss X complained to the Council. She said it had failed to collect her waste on several occasions. She also said that when it did collect her waste, it failed to return her bin to the correct place.
20. The Council replied on 4 December 2019. It apologised and said it had spoken to the waste crew but could find no reason for its failure to collect Miss X’s waste. It said it would collect any outstanding rubbish and had asked the waste crew to ensure Miss X’s bins were collected on the scheduled days. The Council also said it had asked the waste crews to make sure Miss X’s bins were returned to the collection point.
21. On 9 December 2019, Miss X escalated her complaint to stage two because her recycling bins had still not been collected.
22. During December 2019 and January 2020, Miss X reported four further missed collections.
23. On 24 January 2020, the Council provided its stage two response. It apologised to Miss X and said its services had returned to normal after the Christmas period. The Council said it had provided training to the waste crews to ensure Miss X’s bins were returned to the collection point. It said in future, Miss X should have regular, uninterrupted collections.
24. Miss X reported a further three missed collections in February and March 2020.
25. Miss X remained unhappy with the Council’s actions and brought her complaint to the Ombudsman in March 2020.
26. Miss X reported three further missed collections, one each in April, July and August 2020.

The Council’s response

27. The Council has acknowledged Miss X has not received a satisfactory service and says it is trying to resolve the issue by manually monitoring Miss X’s waste collections.
28. It says it has implemented a monitoring system on Miss X’s round, whereby the crew must sign off the collection and return of her waste bins. The Council says the crew are also using in-cab technology to record the collections so it can keep a clear and accurate record.
29. The Council says it is also working with third party providers to introduce a new computer system. It says this will identify occasions when residents have had repeated contact with the Council and will be able to provide a detailed view of where the problems in the service are.
30. The Council says it employed agency staff during the lead up to Christmas 2019. It says the appointment of so many new workers meant the service was not monitored as closely as it should have been, and this may have contributed to the disruption to its service.
31. The Council says it has also had to employ agency staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Analysis

32. The evidence shows Miss X reported 16 missed collections over a period of 16 months. It is therefore clear from the Council’s records it repeatedly failed to collect Miss X’s waste. I am satisfied these failings in the service amount to fault.
33. The Council acknowledges it missed these collections and says this may have been because it employed agency staff in the period prior to Christmas 2019 and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
34. I acknowledge the potential impact the pandemic has/had on the Council’s ability to provide and maintain a service. However, not all the missed collections were during this period, and the Council’s records show only some of the missed collections were referred to the appropriate team to be dealt with.
35. The Council is unable to provide evidence of any correspondence between it and the waste collection teams. And I have seen no evidence of a recorded outcome or resolution for any of the reported missed collections. The Council is therefore unable to demonstrate what action it took, if any, when each missed collection was reported.
36. As a result, I am satisfied the Waste Team was not informed at the time Miss X reported the missed collections. I am also satisfied this failure to adequately deal with the reports of missed collections constitutes fault.

Complaint handling

37. I have found fault in the way the Council dealt with Miss X’s complaint.
38. The Council’s complaints policy says at stage two it will normally respond to the complainant within 20 working days from receipt of the request for a stage two review. Where this is not possible, they will be sent an update with an estimate of the likely timescale for a response.
39. Miss X escalated her complaint to stage two on 9 December 2019. The Council responded on 24 January 2020. This is more than 20 working days, and I have seen no evidence the Council provided Miss X with an update regarding the delay.
40. Having identified fault, I must consider whether this matter has caused Miss X a significant injustice. She says the repeated failure to collect her waste made her very stressed and upset. She says rubbish accumulated outside her house, which made her concerned about a potential adverse impact on her health. Because she relied on the assisted collection service, she was unable to make alternative arrangements and dispose of the waste herself. Miss X has also been put to unnecessary time and trouble in trying to resolve the matter, reporting 16 separate missed collections.
41. The Council has apologised to Miss X and is monitoring the service provided to her. Whilst this, and the implementation of a new computer system is positive action by the Council, I do not consider it adequately addresses the injustice caused to Miss X.

Agreed action

42. The Council has agreed to take the following action:

• Within four weeks of the final decision, make a payment of £400 to Miss X in recognition of the distress caused, and the time and trouble taken in making her complaint;
• Within four weeks of the final decision, remind staff to adhere to the complaints policy, specifically providing a response or update to the complainant within the specified timeframe;
• Continue to monitor the waste collection service for a period of 12 weeks from the final decision, ensuring Miss X’s bins are collected and returned to the correct place, and
• Ensure any subsequent reports of missed collections are escalated to the Waste Team at the time they are reported so a re-collection can be arranged.

The Council is required to provide evidence of compliance to the Ombudsman regarding the above agreed actions.

Back to top

Final decision

43. The Council’s failure to make assisted collections of Miss X’s recycling and garden waste amounts to fault. This fault caused an injustice to Miss X for which the Council has agreed a remedy. I have completed my investigation.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman