Summary: Mr X complained the Council will no longer return the communal bin for his block of flats to the storage area after collection and expects residents to do this. The Council’s failure to properly consider the issues presented by the lack of dropped kerbs and how this should be addressed is fault. This fault has caused Mr X an injustice.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mr X complained the Council will no longer return the communal bin for his block of flats to the storage area after collection and expects residents to do this. He complains the Council has refused to provide a lighter bin and requires residents to install a dropped kerb and ramp at their expense.

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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 significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future 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)

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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;
• 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

5. Mr X lives in a flat serviced by communal bins. The bins are kept in a bin store. Mr X complained that since the summer of 2023 the collection crews have stopped returning the large household waste bin to the bin store when empty. Instead the bin is left of the road.
6. It is not only the bins of Mr X’s block that is not returned. There are four other blocks of flats on Mr X’s estate that have large metal communal bins which the collection crews no longer return. The other eight blocks of flats on the estate have plastic wheelie bins. Mr X says the metal bins are too heavy for residents to return to the store and that they are a hazard if they are left in the road.
7. Mr X made a formal complaint in July 2023 that the bin had been emptied and left in the road. He questioned why the crew had left it there when every other week they had returned it to the bin store. Mr X told the Council the bin was very heavy and that most residents on the estate were unable to move it up the kerb and a high step to the store. He asked the Council to ensure they received the service they had received for many years.
8. In its response the Council apologised for the quality of service provided and any inconvenience caused. It confirmed it would speak to the depot to ensure the crews were adhering to the correct policy and procedures for waste and recycling services.
9. A couple of days later Mr X told the Council the collection crew had again left the bins in the road. He noted that one bin was almost blocking the road, preventing larger vehicles from passing. Mr X was aware that other residents had also complained and he told the Council he would now take this up with his Councillor.
10. Mr X contacted the Council again later that day having been told by his Councillor the issue was due to new safe working practices. He understood the crews were not now allowed to lift the bins up over a kerb or step and must leave them on the road. Mr X asserted leaving the bins in the road was a hazard.
11. He asked the Council to replace the heavy metal bins with lighter plastic ones of equivalent capacity as soon as possible. Mr X asserted that if the collection crews were not allowed to lift the existing metal bins up the kerb, he, a pensioner, should not have to either.
12. Mr X also contacted a service manager at the depot and then asked the Council to review his complaint. He was unhappy the depot manager had told him the residents needed to install dropped kerbs and ramps so that the collection crews do not need to lift the bins. Mr X says this is prohibitively expensive for the residents. Mr X is also unhappy the depot manager refused his request for plastic wheelie bins of the same capacity so that residents could return them to the store. He pointed out that other blocks of flats on the estate used plastic wheelie bins.
13. The Council reviewed Mr X’s complaint and again apologised for the bins not being returned to the store and the inconvenience this caused. It noted the depot manager had confirmed a dropped kerb needed to be put in place and did not uphold Mr X’s complaint.
14. As Mr X remains dissatisfied he has asked the Ombudsman to investigate his complaint. In response to my enquiries the Council has provided a copy of its Safe Working Procedure. This sets out the procedure for the safe method of operation for crews on container rounds and was agreed in 2012. It says that if a container has to be moved down a kerb a suitable ramp, which is carried on the vehicle, will be used if there is no dropped kerb.
15. The Council says that the ramps bought in 2012 had multiple issues. They would regularly break due to the weight of the containers, took a long time to put down and were not effective if there was a dropped kerb and the bin store had a lip. The Council says it no longer provides ramps on the collection vehicles. It has instead decided to work with managing agents and landowners to fix the dropped kerb and lips issues in bin stores. The Council acknowledges the Safe Working Procedure document needs to be updated to reflect the change.
16. The Council says it communicated the change in arrangements to residents on Mr X’s estate in August 2023 when it was notified of a lack of dropped kerbs. It says the depot manager communicated the changes to the community and the local Councillor.
17. In addition, the Council says it contacted the estate’s managing agent following a site visit in October 2023. The Council informed them the collection crews were adhering to the safe working practice and were not expected to lift containers up the kerb after emptying them. They now leave them empty on the roadside. It advised the agents they would have to pay for dropped kerbs to be installed for the crew to wheel the containers up and down. The Council says the managing agents agreed to inform residents of the situation on the depot’s behalf.
18. The Council says the only suitable new designated place for the communal bins to be collected from was the road. The new designated collection point is on white painted do not park lines in place to allow access to the bin store. The depot manager considered this was the safest location for collections. It is not blocking a parking space, or pedestrian access to the building.
19. In relation to Mr X’s concerns about residents having to move the bins, the Council has confirmed it does not expect residents/ care takers to move the bins up the kerb. It says where there are no dropped kerbs or lips in the bin store, it offered managing agents/ landowners two solutions:
• For the landowner/ managing agent to pay to have a dropped kerb put in and/ or the lip to the bin store removed; or
• If the landowner/ managing agent cannot afford this, it will choose a designated place to keep the containers which does not have a dropped kerb issue and close the bin store.
20. Until a solution is agreed the Council will use a chosen designated safe place to keep the containers. It then informs the residents of the new designated place and the reason it was implemented by either writing to residents itself or by the landowner/ managing agents writing to residents on its behalf.
21. The Council says it is not responsible for the cost of dropped kerbs or fixing lips to bins stores of private owned properties.
22. The Council has also provided a copy of it waste collection service specifications. This states that properties such as Mr X’s will be provided with communal facilities for recycling and refuse. The number and size of bins will be appropriate to the number of households in the development, as will the frequency of collection.
23. The service specifications say the collection point for communal containers issued for blocks of flats will be assessed on a case-by-case basis, considering factors such as storage space, access and egress.
24. The Council says changing the heavy communal bins for smaller lighter bins is not an option. Only one large container fits in the bin store. It is too small to accommodate several smaller bins. In addition, in accordance with the service specifications, the block of flats is not eligible for the standard wheelie bin service. In any event, there would still be an issue with the lack of dropped kerbs.

Analysis

25. I am not persuaded the Council has properly consider this matter. The Council has a Safe Working Procedure but it is clear this has not been adhered to for many years. The collection vehicles no longer carry ramps which meant the collection crews had to lift the containers up and down the kerb. The Safe Working Procedure should have been revised at that time the ramps were removed and any changes clearly explained to the collection crews and residents. The failure to do so was fault and allowed a practice the Council considers unsafe to continue.
26. It is unclear when collection crews decided to stop returning the bins, but the documentation provided suggests this was at the trade union’s instruction, rather than the Council’s. It is possible the Council was not aware the collection crews would no longer move the containers back up the kerb until it received complaints from residents.
27. I have not received records of any communication between the Council and residents or the managing agents prior to July 2023 when the crews began leaving the bins in the road. And its responses to Mr X and another resident’s complaints apologise for any inconvenience and say they will contact the depot to ensure the bins are returned correctly. This is a curious response if the Council was aware of/ had implemented this change in practice.
28. The Council says it advised landowners and managing agents of two solutions to the issue of dropped kerbs, but the documentation provided does not support this. The documentation shows the Council advised the managing agents for Mr X’s estate that the bins would now be left on the road and they would need to pay to install a dropped kerb if they wanted crews to return the bins to the stores. There is no reference to an alternative designated storage point.
29. I am also concerned that the Council says it has identified the roadside in front of Mr X’s building as the safest location for the new designated collection point. Photographs provided by Mr X show the bin is an obstruction in the road, making it difficult to pass parked cars. The Council has not shown how it assessed the safety and suitability of the new designated collection points on the road for each of the five block of flats on the estate with large communal bins.
30. The Council says it does not expect residents or the caretaker to move the bins back to the bin store. This would suggest the bins will be permanently left on the road. Given that the Council does not allow smaller domestic wheelie bins to be stored on the street it is remarkable that it considers this is the safest storage point for much larger containers.
31. Nor is there evidence the Council properly considered changing the large metal containers for lighter equivalent sized containers, or smaller wheelie bins. The Council’s waste collection service specification does not say that properties such as Mr X’s cannot have wheelie bins. It notes that blocks of flats with two or three properties will each be provided with standard wheelie bins while blocks of flats with four or more properties will be provided with communal facilities. The number and size of bins will depend on the number of households, but the specification does not say these cannot be large wheelie bins.
32. Indeed, the Council’s records show eight other identical blocks of flats on Mr X’s estate have two 360 litre wheelie bins, rather than one larger container. These bins are stored in the bins store for each block and are collected on different days to Mr X’s waste, on a domestic collection route. It is unclear why the Council did not consider changing the five blocks with large containers, to this wheelie bin service.
33. The Council’s failure to properly consider the issues presented by the lack of dropped kerbs and how this should be addressed is fault. This fault has caused Mr X an injustice. Mr X has experienced frustration, distress, and uncertainty regarding the storage of the bin and the possible expense of a new dropped kerb. He has also been put to unnecessary time and trouble in trying to resolve this matter.

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Agreed action

34. The Council has agreed to apologise to Mr X and pay him £150 in recognition of the frustration and difficulties he has experienced as a result of the Council’s failings.
35. The Council has also agreed to:
• review the waste collection arrangements for Mr X’s and the other blocks of flats on his estate serviced by large waste containers to determine whether alternative bins can be provided or alternatively to ensure any designated collection/ storage points can safely accommodate the large containers. The Council should clearly communicate any decisions regarding the waste collection arrangements to residents.
• review its Safe Working Procedure to ensure it reflects current safe working practices.
36. The Council should take this action within eight weeks 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

37. The Council’s failure to properly consider the issues presented by the lack of dropped kerbs and how this should be addressed is fault. This fault has caused Mr X an injustice.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman