Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council says the complainant must have a bin for his recycling and will not provide him with sacks. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, complains the Council insists he must have an orange bin for his recycling and will not provide him with sacks. Mr X wants the Council to give him sacks.

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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 it is unlikely we would find fault. (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 the law and the Council’s policy. I looked at images of Mr X’s front garden and considered comments Mr X made in reply to a draft of this decision.

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What I found

Environmental Protection Act 1990

4. The law says the Council can decide the type of container a resident must use for the collection of waste. The Council can serve a formal notice on the resident if they do not follow the Council’s instructions. If the person does not comply with the notice the Council can issue a Fixed Penalty Notice.

Council policy

5. The Council’s policy requires everyone to present their waste and recycling in a wheeled bin unless they cannot get the bin to the curtilage of the property due to an access issue. The Council provides sacks if people cannot use a bin.

What happened

6. Mr X has a small front garden. He already keeps a bin for his rubbish in the garden. Mr X has never had a bin for his recycling. He asked the Council for some more sacks.
7. The Council declined and offered to order a free bin for him to use. It said he does not qualify for sacks because he has space in his front garden to store the bin. It said it requires people to use bins, rather than bags, whenever possible.
8. Mr X disagrees with the Council’s decision. He uses his front garden for plants and does not want to store an unsightly second bin. Mr X wants the Council to give him sacks. He has used recycling sacks for 20 years and says that has become an implied term and unwritten rule. He also says the Council is being inflexible and, as a tax payer, he should be able to decide what is kept in his garden. Mr X says the Council has failed to apply a reasonable adjustment.

Assessment

9. I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. The law says councils can decide what type of container people must use and, while the Council has not done this, the law also says a council can serve a formal notice and issue a fine.
10. The Council’s policy says people must use bins providing they have the space to store them. I have seen images of Mr X’s house and he does have the space to store a second bin. I appreciate Mr X would prefer not to use the space for a bin but this disagreement does not mean the Council has done anything wrong. In addition, the policy does not say that the Council will consider plants or other garden objects as being a reason why someone does not have space for a bin.
11. Mr X says the Council is being inflexible but the Council has to treat everyone fairly and, if it allowed Mr X to have sacks, when he does have room for the bin, then it would have to allow similar requests from other people.
12. Mr X also says the Council has failed to make a reasonable adjustment. The Council provides an assisted collection service for people who are physically unable to move their bins. But, the bin would still be stored in the garden. I have not seen anything to suggest Mr X requires assisted collections but, if he does, he can contact the Council.
13. The Council’s decision to require Mr X to use a bin is consistent with the policy so there is no reason to start an investigation. I appreciate Mr X does not want a second bin but we do not act as an appeal body. We cannot intervene simply because a council makes a decision that someone disagrees with.

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Final decision

14. I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman