Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the storage of bins because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mrs X, complains the Council has not taken action over some neighbours who keep their bins on the path. Mrs X says this encourages vermin and is unsightly. Mrs X wants the Council to make the neighbours store their bins in the garden or make them use bags.

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

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mrs X. This includes the complaint correspondence. I also considered our Assessment Code and invited Mrs X to comment on a draft of this decision.

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My assessment

4. The law says councils can decide the type of receptacle someone must use for their waste collections and where they should be placed and stored.
5. Mrs X reported to the Council that some neighbours leave their bins on the path. Mrs X says this encourages people to dump rubbish, encourages vermin and is unsightly. Mrs X says her neighbours should keep their bins in the garden or use bags. Mrs X says bags can be successfully used if they do not include food waste.
6. The Council wrote to the neighbours and visited. The Council told Mrs X it had switched the neighbours to bags but this had caused increased litter because the bags were ripped open. The Council explained the property needs four sets of bins and there is not enough space to keep the bins in the garden. The Council said it had changed the neighbours back to bins and given consent for them to keep the bins on the path. The Council said it had visited the road and found the bins were stored near the fence and were not obstructing the path.
7. I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. Mrs X may be dissatisfied with the outcome, but the Council has addressed her concerns and taken action. It is for Council to decide what receptacles people should use and where they should be kept. Mrs X may prefer for the neighbours to use bags, or to store the bins elsewhere, but these are decisions for the Council to make. We do not act as an appeal body and we cannot intervene simply because a council makes a decision that someone disagrees with.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman