Summary: Mr X complained that although he should receive assisted collection the Council has repeatedly failed to return his household waste and garden waste bins to his property when they are empty. Mr X is unable to move the bins himself and has to rely on neighbours or pay someone to return his bins. The Council’s repeated failure to return Mr X’s bins to his property as part of the assisted collection service is fault. This fault has caused Mr X an injustice.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mr X complained that although he should receive assisted collection the Council has repeatedly failed to return his household waste and garden waste bins to his property when they are empty. Mr X is unable to move the bins himself and has to rely on neighbours or pay someone to return his bins.

Back to top

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. 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)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

4. As part of the investigation, I have:
• considered the complaint and the documents provided by Mr X;
• made enquiries of the Council and considered the comments and documents the Council provided;
• discussed the issues with Mr X;
• Mr X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

Back to top

What I found

Refuse and recycling collections

5. 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.
6. The Council's practice is to make a weekly household waste collection and a fortnightly recycling collection.
7. In addition the Council runs a fortnightly garden waste collection service for 40 weeks between March and December. The Council charges a fee for this service and it is only available to customers who have subscribed for the service in advance.
8. 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

9. Mr X should receive an assisted collection service for his household waste and recycling. He subscribes to the garden waste service which should also be carried out under the assisted collection service. Mr X says his recycling is routinely collected and his bin returned without issue, but there are problems with his household waste and garden waste collections.
10. Mr X says his household waste bin is returned intermittently. The crew will return it after collection for a couple of weeks but will then leave it on the street for the following weeks. However, he says the collection crew never return his garden waste bin. This is always left where he cannot retrieve it.
11. The Council says its records show Mr X reported that his bins had not been returned after collection twice in 2022, once in May and again in late June 2022.
12. Mr X also made a formal complaint about his bins not being returned in May 2022. He told the Council the collection crews were leaving his bins far from his home where he could not retrieve them. Mr X said he had had to pay school children to bring is bins back.
13. The Council responded to his complaint and apologised for the inconvenience and frustration the failings in service had caused. It confirmed it had alerted the service manager to the issue so that they could speak to the collection crew and ensure the bins were returned when empty.
14. As this did not resolve the problem, in early June Mr X asked the Council to review his complaint. In its response the Council noted Mr X had reported the problem of his bins not being returned on multiple occasions, but there had been no resolution.
15. The Council again confirmed it had made the service manager at the depot aware of the issue and would speak to the crew to ensure the collections were made in line with the assisted collection service. It acknowledged the Council had already told Mr X it would take this action but was confident the depot management would now resolve the issue.
16. However, the problem continued over the summer and Mr X has asked the Ombudsman to investigate his complaint. He says his bins are routinely left 50 yards from his property and he is unable to move them back to his property himself.
17. Since complaining to the Ombudsman Mr X has confirmed there has been an improvement in the household waste collections this autumn but his garden waste bin is still not returned to his property.
18. In response to my enquiries the Council states there has been a shortage of drivers and collection crews which has had an impact on the service. The Council has used agency staff to provide cover but this has meant there may be occasions where the service fails due to lesser experienced staff who may not be as proficient as the regular crew.
19. When a resident requests assisted collections the Council updates its data base and notifies the depot. Previously depots would receive a bulk list of assisted collections for all rounds in alphabetical order by road. The Council says it has recently changed its system and now produces condensed lists by day and round. It says the assisted collections lists are placed in the crew packs daily and the crew team leader is instructed to check, complete, and return the list.
20. The Council says moving from the bulk assisted collection list to the newer condensed list has had a positive impact on the service delivery.

Analysis

21. It is clear from the documentation provided that there have been failings in the assisted collection service the Council has provided to Mr X.
22. The Council states Mr X has reported that his bins have not been returned twice in 2022, but I consider it likely the Council has failed to return his bins correctly on more occasions. Mr X’s complaint refers to a further problem in early June 2022 which was not records on the Council’s list. I also note the Council’s response to Mr X’s complaint acknowledges he has reported the problem of his bins not being returned on multiple occasions.
23. I do not therefore consider the Council’s records are a reliable reflection of the extent of the problem.
24. I also consider there to be fault in the way the Council has dealt with Mr X’s complaints. Despite the Council’s assurances it had reminded the crew members and assisted collections would be made, the service did not improve, and Mr X’s bin was still not routinely returned to his property.
25. I recognise the Council may have had operational difficulties and staffing shortages, but that does not necessarily explain why Mr X’s bins are not returned to his property when empty. All collection crews, whether they are the regular crew or a replacement crew, are provided with details of assisted collections on the route. Mr X is registered for assisted collections, and the collection crews must be aware of this as they collect Mr X’s bins from the front of his property. It is therefore unclear why they then repeatedly leave his empty bins on the street rather than returning them to his property.
26. It is also disappointing that although Mr X says there has been an improvement on the household waste collections, his garden waste bin is still not returned to his property. As the garden waste service is coming to an end for this year it is not appropriate to recommend the Council monitors Mr X’s collections. However, if Mr X subscribes to this service again next year we would expect the Council to ensure his bins are collected and returned properly as part of the assisted collection service.
27. Having identified fault, I must consider whether this has caused Mr X a significant injustice. Mr X has had to rely on other people to return his bins after collection, often having to pay school children to do this. He has experienced frustration and disappointment that despite his complaints and reporting of problems the bins are still not routinely returned. Mr X has also been put to time and trouble in pursuing this matter.

Back to top

Agreed action

28. The Council has agreed to apologise to Mr X and pay him £100 in recognition of the frustration and difficulties the repeated failure to return his bins to his property as part of the assisted collection service has caused.
29. The Council should carry out this action within one month of the final decision on this complaint and provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

Back to top

Final decision

30. The Council’s repeated failure to return Mr X’s bins to his property as part of the assisted collection service is fault. This fault has caused Mr X an injustice.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman