Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about missed waste collections because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. In addition, we could not achieve the outcome the complainant would like.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Ms X, complains about missed rubbish collections. She also complains the Council will not provide a residential bin and she is unhappy she has to put her bags out by 7am. Ms X wants the Council to provide a bin.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.

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

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Ms X and the Council. I also considered our Assessment Code and invited Ms X to comment on a draft of this decision.

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My assessment

4. Ms X lives in a flat and has no space for a rubbish bin. She is required to put her rubbish bags out for collection on road A by 7am on Tuesdays and Fridays.
5. Ms X complained about missed collections. She also complained about an overflowing commercial bin and asked the Council to provide a domestic bin for residents. Ms X is unhappy she has to wake up early to put the rubbish out and then finds it is often not collected. Ms X is also unhappy that she has so store waste in her flat between collection days.
6. The Council said it would monitor her collections but also said that the missed collections were generally because she had been leaving the bags in a road where there are no domestic waste collections rather than leaving the bags on road A. The Council reminded Ms X when and where she should leave her bags. The Council said it would explore moving the commercial bin because it should be on private land. The Council explained it cannot provide a domestic bin because it would attract rubbish and the lorries on this route are not equipped to collect waste from bins.
7. I will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. It has explained why Ms X has had missed collections and what she needs to do to rectify the problem. It said it will explore moving the commercial bin and it explained why it cannot provide a domestic bin. There is nothing that suggests we need to start an investigation. In addition, it is for the Council to decide where to provide bins and at what time people need to present their waste. These are not issues we could ask the Council to change.

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Final decision

8. I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council and because we could not achieve the outcome Ms X would like.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman