Summary: Mr X complained the Council repeatedly failed to return his bins to his requested location which blocks the route from his property. The Council admitted it was at fault for not replacing the bins to the desired location and delayed in finding a solution. It has since provided a suitable remedy.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council has failed to resolve an issue with his bin collection. The waste crews repeatedly failed to return the bin to the correct location inside the property boundary and away from the public and private footpaths. Mr X’s wife is disabled and the bins often blocked the route from the property meaning she is effectively housebound.

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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 24A(1)(a) and 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. As part of the investigation I have considered the following:
• The complaint and the documents provided by the complainant.
• Documents provided by the Council and its comments in response to my enquiries.
• The Environment Protection Act 1990.
6. 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

What should happen

7. Councils have a duty under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to collect household waste and recycling from properties in their 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 website gives details of waste collection in the area. The Council uses black bins for general waste and green bins for recycling, it collects these weekly. It has a brown bin for food and garden waste which it collects fortnightly.
9. The Council’s website says to leave the bins at the front boundary of the property ready for collection by 5am on bin collection day.
10. A person who lives alone and is physically unable to present two wheeled bins for collection at the front boundary of their property can apply for supported collection. Bins will be taken for emptying and placed back to the agreed storage point by the collection crews. If someone lives with the person who is able bodied, the Council asks they put the bins out. The Council will check the individual’s eligibility for the service.

What happened

11. I have summarised below the key events; this is not intended to be a detailed account.
12. Mr and Mrs X live in a property with a narrow path and gateway leading on to a narrow pavement next to the road.
13. Mrs X is disabled and cannot move the wheelie bins.
14. Mr X said the collection crew empty the bins and leave them blocking the path, gateway, or pavement. If he is not at home to move the bins, these obstruct the route out of the property and Mrs X cannot leave the house.
15. Mr X has asked the Council several times to put the bins back inside the gate and not on the path. Since April 2022, he has emailed the Council and spoken to officers on the telephone to highlight the situation but this has ‘fallen on deaf ears’. He has also spoken to the collection crew directly and says this has resulted in ‘angry exchanges and denial of their obligations’.
16. Mr X sent an official complaint to the Council in September 2022 and requested a stage two investigation in March 2022. The Council responded to the stage two complaint in April 2022. The letter said the Contractor had been monitoring the collections and it had resolved some problems but ‘Regrettably, there are still issues with some bins not being returned correctly.’ The Council upheld Mr X’s complaint and apologised for its service failures and inconvenience caused. It said it hopes the Contractors continued monitoring of collections and working with the collection crew will improve the service. It said there was nothing more it could do to resolve the issue.
17. The Council provided copies of correspondence in response to my enquiries which shows it was trying to get to the bottom of Mr X’s complaint and work with the Contractor to ensure it was returning the bins correctly. Around May 2022, the Council asked the Contractor to speak with the collection crew to ensure they were aware of their duties. The Contractor replied saying Mr and Mrs X did not have supported bin collections, it was therefore not the Contractors responsibility to return the bins to the collection point. The Contractor asked the Council to not make unrealistic expectations of the collection crew.
18. Mr X complained to the Ombudsman in February 2023 and said ‘promises by the council and contractors representatives are not forthcoming’ and the problem continues.
19. In response to my enquires, the Council said it usually watches video footage recorded from the waste vehicles to understand why issues arise. In this case it said this was problematic as the road is narrow and cars park partly on the pavement which obscure the view. It was therefore difficult to understand what the issue was and why it was happening.
20. The Council also said it instructs operatives how to return the bins correctly, the information is provided via their tablets. It also monitors the properties. The Council said this was all put in place for Mr and Mrs X.
21. The Council sent me a copy of its monitoring records. The first set of records from October 2021 to November 2022 show several times when the collection crew returned the bins to the required spot as asked. On several occasions, the operatives did not return the bins.
22. The second set of records cover the period February 2023 to the end of May 2023. This shows the collection crew emptied and returned the bins to the side or front of the property as Mr X asked.
23. In my most recent enquiries, the Council confirmed it registered Mr and Mrs X’s property for assisted bin collections. Mr X confirmed this.
24. Mr X said the waste operatives are emptying the bins and returning them to the correct place. He said he is ‘relieved the issue seems to be resolved at long last’.

Analysis

25. Mr X complained the Council failed to return his bins to the correct location. Mr X said this has been continuing for several years. I have seen records which go back to October 2021 which shows it was an issue then.
26. The Council accepted there were issues with Mr and Mrs X’s bins. It discussed the matter with the Contractor, reviewed video footage and asked it to replace the bins to a location not blocking the path or gateway. The Council put monitoring in place to try and resolve the issue. On a couple of occasions, a manager came to Mr and Mrs X’s property to empty the bins themselves and return them to the correct location. The Council was actively trying to resolve this issue, but without success. In the early stages the monitoring only highlighted the issue as it showed the operatives not correctly returning the bins after emptying them. The Council were looking for solutions which is consistent with what the Ombudsman would recommend. Unfortunately it did not work in the early stages.
27. At the start of Mr X’s complaint, he was not registered for supported bin collections. The Ombudsman would not expect the waste operatives to do anything different for Mr and Mrs X compared to other residents.
28. Considering the information from the Council’s website, Mr and Mrs X do not qualify for assisted bin collections as Mr X is able bodied and able to present and return the bins himself. The Ombudsman would therefore not find the Council at fault for not offering this service to Mr and Mrs X.
29. However, the Council accepted responsibility for the issue and tried to find a solution for Mr and Mrs X. The Council used its discretion and registered Mr and Mrs X for supported collections. The issue is now sorted. I do not know if this was the solution, but the timing suggests it may be.

Summary

30. The Council admitted it was at fault and apologised for not returning Mr and Mrs X’s bins to the required location when it had promised to do so, despite trying to put solutions in place.
31. Mr X confirmed the Council now empties and returns his bins as asked. The Council provided records which evidences this. The Council has provided a suitable remedy for Mr and Mrs X

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Final decision

32. The Council admitted it was at fault and apologised for not replacing the bins to the desired location. It has now provided a suitable remedy which Mr X confirmed is working.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman