Summary: Miss X complained that although she has repeatedly reported missed collections the Council has not collected her recycling since March 2022. This has led to an unsightly accumulation of waste which she is unable to dispose of herself. Miss X also complained that although should receive assisted collections, her empty bin is not always returned to her property. The failings in the assisted collection service the Council provided to Miss X are fault. This fault has caused Miss X an injustice.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Miss X complained that although she has repeatedly reported missed collections the Council has not collected her recycling since March 2022. Prior to that the Council had not collected her recycling since February 2021. This has led to an unsightly accumulation of waste which she is unable to dispose of herself.
2. Miss X also complained that when her household waste is collected, although should receive assisted collections, her bin is not always returned to her property and the lid is left open.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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)
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 complaint and the documents provided by Miss X;
• made enquiries of the Council and considered the comments and documents the Council provided;
• discussed the issues with Miss X;
• Miss 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

Refuse and recycling collections

6. Councils have a duty under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to arrange for the collection of 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.
7. The Council's practice is to make a weekly household waste collection and a fortnightly recycling collection.
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.
9. When a resident reports a missed collection, the Depot will ask the crew to return to complete the round as soon as possible. When the Council has completed the collection, it closes the report.

What happened here

10. Miss X says the Council has not collected her own or her neighbours’ recycling since March 2022. She also says that although the Council collects her household waste each week as scheduled, it does not always return her bin to her property. Miss X complains the collection crew sometimes move rubbish bags from other bins into one bin so they only have to take one bin to the collection vehicle. They then leave the bin on the main road rather than return it as they should under the assisted collection service.
11. According to the Council’s records, Miss X has reported 3 missed recycling collections since March 2022. These were 28 February, 29 March and 3 May 2023 and the reports were all closed two weeks later, at the next scheduled collection.
12. Miss X’s own records show she also telephoned the Council in August and November 2022 and in mid-March and April 2023. She also made a formal complaint about failings in the assisted waste collections service in November 2022. Miss X reported her bin had been used to transport bags from other bins and not been returned. The Council ordered Miss X a replacement bin and asked the crew to collect her sacks of waste until the new bin arrived.
13. In late February 2023 Miss X made another formal complaint to the Council. She said her recycling had not been collected for almost a year and her previous complaints had not resolved the problem. Miss X asked the Council to collect her recycling on a regular basis and to compensate her for the missed collections. She said having to repeatedly phone to report missed collections was causing her stress.
14. The Council responded a few days later and apologised for the recent missed collection. It confirmed the collection would be made as soon as possible, and asked Miss X to let it know if the recycling was not collected by the next scheduled collection. The Council also asked Miss X to report any further missed collections. It noted its records did not suggest collections from Miss X’s property were consistently missed and advised that if they were, Miss X should inform them on every occasion.
15. The problem continued and Miss X provided photographs of the uncollected waste after the next scheduled collection was missed. She asked the Council to investigate her complaint further. The Council reviewed Miss X’s complaint and again apologised for the inconvenience of missed recycling collections and her refuse bin not being returned. It had asked the depot management to address this with the crew and to remind them to return Miss X’s bins to her property. The Council said it anticipated this would resolve the issues.
16. Miss X has asked the Ombudsman to investigate her complaint as she says the problems are ongoing. Miss X says the Council has still not collected her recycling. The waste and excess has been there since March 2022 and is now an unsightly pile as she has no way to dispose of it. This is affecting her mental health and causing difficulties with her neighbours.
17. In response to my enquiries the Council says its records of reported missed collections do not reflect a repeated failure to collect Miss X’s recycling. It has provided copies of photographs of Miss X’s recycling bin which is says show that on occasions her recycling was not presented correctly.
18. It notes that one photograph shows excess cardboard that was loose and larger than it should be for excess cardboard. The Council says cardboard should be neatly bundled and no larger than the paper pod. The second photograph shows plastic bags in Miss X’s recycling bin. The Council says plastic bags should not be presented in the body of the recycling bin as it can contaminate the whole load. The Council suggests incorrect presentation could account for some of the missed collections.
19. In addition the Council confirms crews should collect the bins and return them to the storage point as part of the assisted collection service. It acknowledges that there are occasions when the crew may remove bags from bins and use one bin to transport the bags to the vehicle to save time. This practice is unacceptable and it says the manager has spoken to the crews to explain what is expected and will monitor this.
20. Miss X has responded to the draft decision and points out that she is disabled and unable to fold large cardboard boxes. She also says the cardboard is placed outside neatly but is blown around and gets rained on when it is not collected. Miss X says the recycling is still outside her house and the Council has made no attempt to collect it.

Analysis

21. It is clear from the documentation available that there have been failings in the assisted collection service the Council has provided to Miss X. Miss X’s household waste bin is not always returned to her property when it is empty but has on occasion been left on the main road. This should not happen and Miss X is unable to retrieve the bin from the main road herself.
22. There have also been missed recycling collections. Miss X and the Council have differing views on the extent of the missed collections. The Council says Miss X has only reported three missed collections since March 2022, whereas Miss X says the Council has not made any recycling collections since March 2022 and that she has reported the problem many times.
23. Our investigations are evidence based and I am unable to accept one person’s word against another’s. I do however consider it likely that the Council has missed more than the three collections its records show. Miss X has provided telephone records showing additional calls to the Council and sent the Council photographs of a missed collection in mid-March 2023 which is not included in the Council’s records.
24. I do not therefore consider the Council’s records are a reliable reflection of the extent of the missed collections, or when it actually collected the recycling. The Council’s records show the missed collection on 28 February 2023 was collected on 14 March 2023. But Miss X’s photographs sent to the Council on 17 March 2023 show the recycling had not been collected. It is concerning that the Council appears to have closed the report when it had not collected the waste.
25. The Council asserts these photographs show Miss X did not always present her recycling for collection properly and that this is the reason for some of the missed collections. I am not persuaded this was the case. I have not received any evidence the crew noted this was an issue or recorded this as a reason for not collecting Miss X’s recycling. The collection crew should tag any bins they find contaminated so the resident knows why the waste has not been collected, but there is no suggestion it did so here. And there is no evidence the Council informed Miss X there was an issue with the way she presented her recycling. The Council’s response to Miss X’s complaint did not refer to the photographs or suggest there was an issue with the presentation or contamination of her recycling.
26. In the absence of any tags or explanation Miss X would have been unaware this could be a reason for the missed collection and unable to take any action to address the situation.
27. The Council’s website confirms it will always take excess cardboard that does not fit in the pod in the recycling bin. It asks residents to place any excess cardboard in a neat pile next to the bin or put it in a cardboard box to keep it tidy. Any large boxes should be folded or broken up. The photograph shows some of the cardboard has been broken up and placed in a pile, with more cardboard contained in a bag. Again, if the Council had refused to collect the cardboard due to the way it was presented it should have told Miss X this was the reason.
28. The failure to collect Miss X’s recycling or to explain why, on occasion, it could not be collected is fault.
29. This fault has caused Miss X an injustice. She has had to try to find ways to manage the uncollected recycling left at her property and is frustrated and upset that the accumulated waste makes the area look untidy and causes conflict with her neighbours. Miss X has also been put to unnecessary time and trouble in trying to resolve this matter.

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Agreed action

30. The Council has agreed to apologise to Miss X and pay her £100 in recognition of the frustration and difficulties the failings in the assisted collection service she has received have caused.
31. The Council has also agreed to monitor Miss X’s household waste and recycling collections for eight weeks to ensure the assisted collections are carried out properly and the bins are returned to the collection point. Should the Council identify any issues with the way Miss X presents her recycling during the monitoring period it should clearly raise this with Miss X so that future issues can be avoided.
32. 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.

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Final decision

33. The failings in the assisted collection service the Council provided to Miss X are fault. This fault has caused Miss X an injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman