Summary: Miss X complained the Council failed to collect the communal recycling from her block of maisonettes, while collecting the recycling from the rest of the street, for over three months. The Council’s repeated failure to collect Miss X’s recycling on the scheduled days amounts to fault. This fault has caused an injustice.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Miss X complained the Council failed to collect the communal recycling from her block of maisonettes, while collecting the recycling from the rest of the street, for over three months.
2. Miss X complains that despite reporting missed collections and making complaints the problem of missed collections has continued. Although there has been an improvement in the service, Miss X complains the Council still does not routinely collect the communal recycling on the scheduled day.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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)
4. 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

5. As part of the investigation, I have:
• considered the complaint and the documents 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

6. 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.
7. The Council's practice is to make a weekly household waste collection and a fortnightly recycling collection.
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 complains the Council failed to collect the recycling from the communal bins for her block of maisonettes between August and November 2020. The Council collected the household waste as scheduled but did not make any of the scheduled recycling collections.
10. According to the Council’s records Miss X reported two missed collections in 2020. These were consecutive collections, due on 26 October and 10 November 2020. Another resident reported two further missed collections, one in October and the other in December 2020. The Council suggests this is not indicative of a problem of repeated missed collections.
11. The Council’s records also show Miss X made a formal complaint in August 2020. She complained that the recycling had not been collected but the Council’s online system would not let her report the missed collection. The system showed Miss X’s bins had not been left out for collection. Miss X disputed this as they are communal bins which do not move from the storage point. Miss X asked the Council to empty the bins before the next scheduled collection.
12. In its response the Council apologised for the missed collection and advised the crew had not reported that they had not collected Miss X’s recycling. It apologised for the incorrect information on its website.
13. In October 2020 Miss X asked the Council to review her complaint as the recycling had still not been collected. The Council apologised for the continued poor service. It confirmed it had reminded the crew to ensure they made the next scheduled collection on 9 November 2020 and cleared any excess waste. The Council also confirmed it was aware of a technical error on its website which was preventing some people from reporting a missed collection and displaying erroneous information.
14. Miss X was unhappy with the Council’s response. She stated she had reported each missed collection and was told each time that it would be collected on the next scheduled collection. Yet the Council had not collected the recycling from her block of maisonettes for three months. Miss X questioned what the Council had done differently this time to ensure the crew collected the recycling.
15. The Council did not collect Miss X’s recycling on 9 November 2020 and Miss X complained this was the seventh consecutive missed collection. The Council collected the accumulated recycling on 13 November 2020 and confirmed there was a plan in place to improve collections going forward. It apologised again for the reduced level of service.
16. The service improved, but in January 2021 Miss X contacted the Council again to complain of a further missed collection. She reported the crew had collected the recycling from the rest of her street but has again missed the communal bins for her property. Miss X was concerned the Council had not resolved the problem. The Council confirmed it had escalated the matter to the managers concerned so they were aware the collection needed to be made.
17. Miss X has asked the Ombudsman to investigate her complaint as although the service has improved, the Council still does not routinely collect her recycling on the scheduled day. In response to my enquiries the Council states there does not appear to be a repeated failure to collect Miss X’s recycling. It has referred to its records of only a small number of reported missed collections and states the only issue a senior manager could recall was the occasional contamination of the communal recycling. It considers the issue to be resolved.
18. Miss X maintains she reported each missed collection through the correct channels and that the Council was aware of the problem. She asserts the Council could have resolved the matter sooner, but only took action following the intervention of her local councillors and MP.

Analysis

19. The Council’s assertion that there has not been a problem of repeated missed collections is surprising given the extensive complaint correspondence between Miss X and the Council.
20. Although the Council’s records show Miss X only reported two missed collections, the documentation as a whole show there were considerably more. I do not therefore consider the Council’s records are a reliable reflection of the extent of the missed recycling collections. Particularly as the Council’s responses to Miss X’s complaints refer to error in its reporting system, including not allowing missed collections to be reported. It is unclear whether the Council has now resolved the reporting issues, but if it has not, the Council should rectify this without further delay.
21. The Council’s failure to collect Miss X’s recycling for three months amounts to fault.
22. Having identified fault, I must now consider whether this has caused Miss X an injustice. Miss X has had to find ways to manage the uncollected recycling left at her property, including disposing of it herself. She has also experienced frustration and disappointment, both with the missed collections and the Council’s failure to resolve the problem. Miss X has been put to unnecessary time and trouble in trying to resolve this matter.

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Agreed action

23. The Council has agreed to apologise to Miss X and pay her £100 in recognition of the frustration and difficulties the failure to make regular recycling collections has caused.
24. The Council should carry out this action within one month of the final decision on this complaint.
25. The Council has also agreed to implement a three month period of monitoring to ensure the recycling collections are made on the scheduled days. This should begin within one month of the final decision on this complaint.

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Final decision

26. The Council’s repeated failure to collect Miss X’s recycling on the scheduled days amounts to fault. This fault has caused an injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman