Summary: Mrs X complained the Council has repeatedly failed to return her bin while routinely leaving her neighbours’ bins blocking her drive way, preventing her from moving her car. Mrs X states she is disabled and finds moving all of the bins from in front of her property very difficult. The Council’s repeated failure to return Mrs X and her neighbours’ empty bins to their respective properties amounts to fault. This fault has caused Mrs X an injustice.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mrs X complained that although she should receive an assisted collection, the Council has repeatedly failed to return her bin while routinely leaving her neighbours’ bins blocking her drive way, preventing her from moving her car. Mrs X states she is disabled and finds moving all of the bins from in front of her property very difficult.
2. She complains that despite numerous complaints and assurances from the Council that the bins will all be returned properly, the problem is ongoing.
3. Mrs X also complains about missed household waste and recycling collections.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. 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)
5. 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

6. As part of the investigation, I have:
• considered the complaint and the documents provided by Mrs X;
• made enquiries of the Council and considered the comments and documents the Council provided;
• Mrs 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

7. Councils have a duty under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to collect household waste and recycling from properties in its area. The Council’s service specification sets out its arrangements for the collection of recycling and refuse. This states that residents are required to place their wheelie bins out for collection on the pavement at the edge of their property nearest to the road, unless there is a designated collection and return point. Wheelie bins must not be left in the middle of a pavement (where they cause an obstruction to pedestrians) or at the kerbside of the pavement (where they may cause an obstruction to people getting out of parked cars).
8. The service specification also states that once wheelie bins have been emptied the Council will return the wheelie bins to the point from where they were collected.
9. The Council provides an assisted collection service for people who are unable to move their bins and boxes due to a disability or age. The Council should collect the bins from the storage point and return them to the same point.

What happened here

10. Mrs X states that she has been reporting problems with the collection crews leave her neighbours’ bins blocking her drive after emptying them since October 2020. The bins are marked with the property numbers so it is clear where they should be returned, but Mrs X states the crews stand by the refuge truck and push the bins in the direction of her property. Mrs X states she no longer leaves her gates open as the bins have on occasion rolled down her drive and hit her car. Mrs X has provided the Council with photographs of her neighbours’ bins blocking her drive.
11. The Council’s records show Mrs X made a formal complaint in February 2021, when she reported that she had to move over 20 bins from in front of her gate that morning. The Council responded the same day and apologised for the poor service and inconvenience. It confirmed the service manager had instructed the crew concerned to ensure Mrs X’s wheelie bins were returned properly after collections, and that no other wheelie bins obstructed her property.
12. Mrs X contacted the Council again in March 2021 and asked that the crews be reminded not to leave bins in front of her gate. She noted this was the fourth complaint she had made and hoped the matter could finally be resolved. Mrs X also complained that only one of her three bins was among the many left in front of her gate, so having moved her neighbours’ bins away from her property she then had to search for her own bins.
13. The Council again apologised and confirmed the service manager would speak to the crew. It also confirmed a manger would monitor her property for the next 6 weeks to ensure the collections were made and wheelie bins were not left obstructing her property. The Council noted Mrs X was not registered on its system for assisted collections. As Mrs X had stated she was disabled, the Council suggested she could apply for this service.
14. As the problem continued Mrs X contacted the Council again a couple of weeks later and provided a photograph showing how the bins had been left. Mrs X said she had seen the manager visit her street, but as her neighbours had already moved the bins before the manager arrived, they would not have seen the extent of the problem.
15. The records show Mrs X continued to report that her neighbours’ bins were being left blocking her drive while she had to search for her own bins in the street. Mrs X was concerned that this was being done deliberately as she had complained. The Council confirmed each time that it would speak to the crews and monitor the collections.
16. In May 2021 the Council reviewed Mrs X’s complaint and confirmed she would now receive assisted collections. The crews would collect Mrs X’s bins from her property and then return them. However, this did not resolve the problem and Mrs X complained again in early June 2021 that the crews were still leaving her neighbours’ bins blocking her drive.
17. Mrs X is frustrated that despite the Council’s repeated assurances that the bins would be returned properly, her neighbours’ bins continue to be left blocking her drive.
18. In response to my enquiries the Council states the monitoring in March and April 2021 was carried out on an informal ad hoc basis and as such was not recorded. The Council has now set up formal monitoring for November and December 2021. As Mrs X is now registered for assisted collections her bins should be returned to her door step. It states the monitoring should verify this.
19. The Council states that due to COVID-19 related issues over the last year and a half there have been several inconsistencies in crew composition and location knowledge may vary. It accepts that some relief crew may not have worked through their assisted collection list as thoroughly as they should
20. According to the Council’s records Mrs X has reported three missed recycling collections over the last 12 months and has not reported any missed household waste collections.

Analysis

21. The Council’s repeated failure to return Mrs X and her neighbours’ bins to their properties in line with its service specification amounts to fault. It is clearly not acceptable that a large number of bins from neighbouring properties are routinely left blocking Mrs X’s drive, particularly when Mrs X’s own bins are left elsewhere on the street.
22. It is disappointing that the Council has been aware of this issue for a year, yet the problems persist. The Council repeatedly assured Mrs X it had spoken to the crew members and the bins would be returned properly, but the service has not improved, and crews still leave multiple bins blocking Mrs X’s drive.
23. I recognise the Council has now set up formal monitoring, and this is to be welcomed. However, Mrs X has provided a photograph taken on the first day of the monitoring period which shows five bins blocking her drive way. One of which was Mrs X’s, which should have been returned to her doorstep as part of the assisted collection service.
24. Further, in late November 2021, the Council returned Mrs X’s bin to the road in front of her property but left several other bins in front of another neighbour’s car rather than return then to their respective properties. This ongoing failure to return the bins to the correct points has led to unpleasantness with neighbours on Mrs X’s street.
25. Given these ongoing issues, I consider the monitoring period should be extended. I would expect the Council to use the evidence collected during the monitoring period to improve the service Mrs X and her neighbours receive and to ensure that all the bins are returned to their respective properties.
26. Having identified fault, I must consider whether this has caused Mrs X a significant injustice. Mrs X has routinely had to move several bins each week so that she can drive her car off her driveway. This is not only time consuming and inconvenient, but given Mrs X’s disabilities, is physically difficult and can cause her discomfort. Mrs X has experienced frustration and disappointment that despite her complaints and reporting of problems the bin are still not returned properly. She has also been put to time and trouble in pursuing this matter.

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Agreed action

27. The Council has agreed to apologise to Mrs X and pay her £200 in recognition of the frustration and difficulties the repeated failure to return her own and her neighbours’ bins to their respective properties has caused.
28. The Council has also agreed to extend the monitoring period for a further eight weeks to ensure Mrs X and her neighbours’ bins are all returned correctly to the collection points for their respective properties.
29. The Council should take this action within one month of the final decision on this complaint.

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Final decision

30. The Council’s repeated failure to return Mrs X and her neighbours’ empty bins to their respective properties amounts to fault. This fault has caused Mrs X an injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman