Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about a missed garden waste collection. This is because there is insufficient evidence of injustice and because it is unlikely the Ombudsman could add to the Council’s response.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Ms X, says the Council missed a garden waste collection in May. She disagrees the bin was contaminated and says she was forced to hire a skip costing £90.

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

• the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council.

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

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How I considered this complaint

3. I read the complaint and the Council’s responses. I considered comments Ms X made in reply to a draft of this decision.

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What I found

What happened

4. Ms X complained to the Council that her garden waste had not been collected. In response the Council explained the crew had not emptied the bin because it was contaminated. The crew could not remember how the bin had been contaminated. The Council reminded Ms X that soil and rubble should not be included with the garden waste. The Council said it would collect the garden waste on the next scheduled collection day. The Council provides monthly garden collections.
5. Ms X disputed that she had contaminated the bin. She said the bin contained dead plants, grass, twigs and a smattering of soil. She explained she was unable to leave the house because she was shielding and had had to hire a skip because the grass was starting to smell. In response, the Council said there was nothing more it could add and it could not reconcile the two views about whether the waste was contaminated.

Assessment

6. I will not start an investigation for the following reasons.
7. I appreciate the missed collection caused some inconvenience to Ms X and she thought it necessary to hire a skip. However a single missed collection does not represent sufficient injustice to merit an investigation. Ms X spent £90 on a skip but it was her choice to do that and she could have waited for the next collection.
8. I also will not start an investigation because it is unlikely I could add to the Council’s response. Like the Council, I could not resolve the dispute about whether there were contaminated items in the bin. Ms X says she wished she had taken photographs. But, she did not so there is no way I could establish what was in the bin. In addition, even if the bin was not contaminated, and the Council had simply missed it, we still do not start an investigation for a single missed collection.
9. Ms X says the Council delayed replying to her complaint. However, the Council apologised and this does not require an investigation.

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Final decision

10. I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of injustice and because I could not add to the Council’s response.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman