Summary: Mr X complains the Council’s waste management contractor repeatedly failed to provide adequate waste collections for his property for several weeks. This caused Mr X significant inconvenience, frustration and time and trouble. The Council has agreed to apologise to Mr X, make a financial payment and service improvements to remedy this injustice.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council’s waste management contractor repeatedly failed to provide adequate waste collections for his property for several weeks and failed to make sure missed collections were made. This caused Mr X significant inconvenience and frustration.

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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’. 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)
3. We investigate complaints about councils and certain other bodies. Where an individual, organisation or private company is providing services on behalf of a council, we can investigate complaints about the actions of these providers. (Local Government Act 1974, section 25(7), as amended)
4. If we are satisfied with an organisation’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. I considered:

• Mr X’s complaint and the information he provided;
• the Council’s responses to Mr X’s complaint and its communication with him;
• relevant legislation and guidelines; and
• the Council’s policies and procedures.

6. Mr X and the Council now have the opportunity to comment on my draft decision. No comments were received.

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What I found

Legislation

7. 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.
8. The Council's practice is to make a weekly food waste collection and fortnightly recycling and household waste collections.

• The Council will arrange for missed collections to be rearranged if a resident reports this within two days of the scheduled collection. The Council will return to collect the waste within one working day after the missed collection report.

What happened

9. This chronology includes key events and does not cover everything that happened.
10. The Council has a legal responsibility to collect household waste and recyclable waste from Mr X’s property. The Council contracts with a company to provide that waste service on its behalf.
11. Mr X had a special collection arrangement in place for his household and recycling waste due to the location of his property. A designated collection point for collection of the waste had been agreed.
12. Mr X made a formal complaint in November 2021 about missed collections over the last 12 months. The Council responded in December. It upheld his complaint and said it had raised the matter with its new waste management contractor and a site visit had been arranged to assess how further issues could be avoided.
13. Mr X responded and told the Council he was still waiting for an update about carboard/paper containers. The Council responded in February 2022 and advised the contractor had been granted security access to the grounds, where the bins were located. The Council said the contractor had updated its records and Mr X’s property was listed for special collection. The Council considered this would lead to a more consistent service.
14. In June 2022 Mr X asked the Council to consider his complaint at stage two of its complaint procedure. He said he had been in regular contact with the waste management team and despite all efforts the service had not improved. Mr X reported the missed collections to the Council and said his general waste had not been collected for three weeks and there had been another missed collection of his recycling waste. He said that when he reported the missed collection, he received an email stating his waste had been collected and the report was closed.
15. Two days later Mr X contacted the Council and said his waste had not been collected for over four weeks.
16. The Council responded to Mr X’s stage two complaint in early July 2022. It recognised that Mr X had not had a waste and/or recycling collection for 12 weeks, despite reporting each missed collection. The Council acknowledged that there had been a large number of missed collections, failed return trips to collect the missed waste, issues with reporting missed collections online and the incorrect closing of missed reports.
17. The Council said that details of Mr X’s collection point had not been passed to the new crew. It said the waste management team was in regular contact with the contractor about the issues.
18. The Council apologised to Mr X. It said it had produced a learning sheet for the crew detailing the previous missed calls and how to access the collection point. It said supervisory checks would be in place for four weeks from the date of Mr X’s next collection on 8 July 2022. The Council upheld Mr X’s complaint.
19. On 8 July 2022 Mr X reported further missed bin collections.
20. On 28 July 2022 Mr X reported the contractor had still not emptied his bins. Mr X was frustrated as the issues had not been resolved.
21. On 16 August 2022 Mr X reported the contractor had failed to collect his recycling waste. The contractor said Mr X’s recycling bin was not available for collection. Mr X said the bin was left at the collection point. He provided photographs as evidence. The Council responded and said the contractor would continue to monitor his collections.
22. Mr X has since sold his property and moved out in early September 2022.

Analysis

23. The Council has already accepted fault. It is clear that its waste management contractor consistently failed to collect Mr X’s waste over a sustained period. These service failings amount to fault. Mr X has experienced frustration and disappointment with the missed collections and has been put to unnecessary time and trouble in repeatedly trying to resolve the matter. He has suffered inconvenience in having to dispose of his own waste at a local tip which was ten miles from his home.
24. I also have concerns about the contractor’s monitoring of the service following complaints made by Mr X. The Council assured Mr X the contractor would monitor his collection. However, this did not happen, and Mr X reported further missed collections in July and August 2022. He was put to the time and trouble of contacting the Council and providing photographic evidence.

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Agreed action

25. When a council commissions another organisation to provide services on its behalf it remains responsible for those services and for the actions of the organisation providing them. So, although we found fault with the actions and service of the contractor, we have made recommendations to the Council.
26. Within one month of the final decision, the Council will:

• apologise to Mr X;
• pay Mr X £150 in recognition of the inconvenience, frustration and difficulties the repeated failure to empty his bins over a sustained period caused;
• explain to the Ombudsman the steps it has taken to, address issues with reporting missed collections, the incorrect closing of missed reports and

prevent repeat practice of the issues that caused Mr X to complain to the Council and then the Ombudsman.

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Final decision

27. I have found fault by the Council causing an injustice to Mr X. I have completed my investigation on this basis.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman