Summary: Mr X complained the Council frequently failed to collect his recycling. We discontinued our investigation. That is because we cannot add to the Council’s investigation. Further investigation by the Ombudsman would not lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council frequently failed to collect his recycling, or occasionally collected his recycling as part of its household waste collections – meaning recyclable material went to landfill.
2. Mr X said he incurred time and trouble reporting missed collections to the Council, and in having to take his recycling to a recycling centre himself.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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 or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide:

• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

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

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How I considered this complaint

4. As part of the investigation I have considered the following:
• The complaint and the documents provided by the complainant.
• Documents provided by the Council.
5. Mr 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

6. Mr X contacted the Council about missed recycling collections in 2021. He complained in December 2021, but I have not seen evidence the Council provided a full response.
7. Mr X contacted the Council about missed collections again in June and July 2022. The Council did not resolve matters, so Mr X complained to the Ombudsman in September 2022.
8. The Council investigated Mr X’s complaint and gave a full response in January 2023. It apologised for its lack of communication and accepted it frequently missed his recycling collections, including as recently as December 2022.
9. Although the Council did not know the reasons behind the missed collections, it suggested service improvements it could make. It confirmed an officer visited Mr X to understand the issues and that a manager from its waste contractor would speak to bins crews and circulate a memo about Mr X’s collections.
10. The Council also confirmed it will monitor Mr X’s recycling collections for two months.
11. Mr X told me he appreciated the Council sending someone to speak to him. He said collections had improved after the Council sent its complaint response.

Analysis

12. I discontinued my investigation. That is because further investigation by the Ombudsman would not add to the Council’s investigation or lead to a different outcome.
13. The Council has accepted there were service failings and has put measures in place to improve the situation. Those improvements are in line with what the Ombudsman would recommend.
14. I therefore do not consider it is proportionate to investigate further.

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Final decision

15. I have discontinued my investigation. That is because we cannot add to the Council’s investigation. Further investigation by the Ombudsman would not lead to a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman