Summary: Miss D says the Council repeatedly missed waste collections at her home. We have found evidence of fault by the Council and upheld the complaint. We completed the investigation because the Council agrees to take action including paying Miss D redress.

The complaint

1. The complainant (who I refer to as Miss D) says the Council has repeatedly failed to collect household waste.

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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 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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What I have and have not investigated

4. I have investigated events covering February 2023 to February 2024. I have not looked at any earlier incidents because we expect a complaint to be made to the Ombudsman within 12 months of the problem arising.

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How I considered this complaint

5. I have considered the information provided by Miss D. I asked the Council questions and examined its response.
6. I shared my draft decision with both parties.

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What I found

What happened

7. In February Miss D reported a missed waste collection to the Council. The Council’s records show there were also missed collections reported by either Miss D or other residents in her street in June (one report) and August (two reports). In October the Council received 30 reports from residents in the street, including Miss D, about missed collections. Miss D emailed the Council on 16 October that waste collections had been missed for two consecutive weeks. The Council said it would pass her concerns onto the service area. The next day Miss D complained about the missed collections.
8. On 18 October an internal Council email noted it was receiving reports about recurring missed collections in the street. An Officer stated they would visit the site and check what was causing the problem. The Council received further reports from residents the next day and on 23 October. The Team Leader for Cleansing stated the waste collection driver had caught-up with the collections.
9. In November the Council received six reports from residents about more missed collections. On 13 November the waste collection crew noted it could not access the street due to parked vehicles at 10 am. On 16 November Miss D told the Council the whole street had a missed collection. The Council replied there had been an access issue and it would return when available. Miss D said this had happened before and it was better to attend after 9am for better access. On 20 November Miss D reported another missed collection and asked whether the four separate access points to the street had all been inaccessible. The Council asked Waste Support to return and clear waste ideally after 9am. On 21 November the Council wrote to Miss D. It had considered her complaint and apologised for missed collections. It said the waste crews were under pressure due to “issues beyond our control”. It could not guarantee recollection of bins where there had been one missed collection. Miss D responded that she still did not know what the problems were. She asked the Council to prioritise collections for the street and to use a smaller vehicle to avoid access issues. On 23 November Miss D asked the Council for an update on the missed collections. The Council said it had been unable to recollect the waste due to access issues but would try again. Miss D reiterated that a solution was needed.
10. On 28 November the Council told Miss D the waste crew had made three attempts to collect waste that week and that Monday was the regular collection day. It said the area was congested with parked cars by people accessing local shops. The Council could not instruct that a collection crew attend after a set time because they had a schedule. Miss D replied noting the Council website said the collection day had moved from Monday to Tuesday. The Council told Miss D its records showed collection day for her waste was Monday, some residents would receive a collection on a different day. It would ask the crew to collect waste later in the day but it could not guarantee this. On 29 November the Council wrote to Miss D about her case. It said her waste collections should be made on a Monday. It was happy to work with crews about attending after 9am but the working day and routes were pre-set for the collection crews. Its records showed the crews had previously attempted collections at 7am through to noon. Where the crews found access was blocked by parked cars they had to continue with the rest of the collection route and should log a report about blocked access. The Council said it would ask for letters to be sent to residents if the parking situation did not improve. The Area Manager and Team Leaders had been to the site and ensured the waste had been collected recently. The Council would continue to monitor the location and work with the crews on access issues.
11. In December the Council received 22 reports from residents, including Miss D, about missed collections to the street. On 5 December Miss D asked the Council to look again at her complaint. The Council replied on 20 December. It apologised for the missed collections. It stated the crews had visited the street at different times to make collections. Officers had also visited the site and confirmed the problems were largely due to access issues caused by parked cars. In respect of Miss D’s request about using a smaller collection vehicle, the Council said it could use its smaller vehicle for “mop-ups” but this was not always available. It was “not economically viable” to regularly use a smaller vehicle where the issue was caused by parked vehicles which could be resolved. The Council was in the process of writing to residents about parking. It was considering “all possible options” to resolve the issue and was exploring “a permanent solution” and making continuous efforts to monitor.
12. In January 2024 the Council received six reports from residents of the street about missed collections. On 15 January the Council approved the allocation of a smaller vehicle to make waste collections for the street. No reports of missed collections were made in February.

Events outside the period I am investigating

13. In March the Council received two reports for missed collections and in April it received six reports for missed collections all in the same week. The Council says these were due to access issues caused by parked vehicles.

What should have happened

14. When a resident has their waste collection missed, they can report the issue to the Council online or by calling the contact centre. For a first missed collection the Council says it will try to revisit the site and collect the waste later the same week but it cannot guarantee this will happen. Where a resident reports three consecutive missed collections the case should be referred to customer service who will liaise with the waste depot to arrange a priority collection.
15. The Council uses a standard size waste collection vehicle for most of its routes.

Was there fault by the Council

16. I have found some evidence of fault by the Council.
17. From February 2023 to September, I consider the Council acted reasonably. It received very limited reports about missed collections for the street. However, this changed in October when 30 reports were made by residents, including Miss D, about missed collections. At that point there was a duty on the Council to consider the cause of the problem and look for a resolution. I see that Officers noted they would visit the area to investigate but I have not found a record of any such visit or what was progressed as a result. Instead, Miss D had to continue reporting problems and complaining until she received a response at the end of November where the Council set out the main issue was due to parked vehicles blocking access. At that point the Council said it would write consider writing to residents about parking. A month later the Council told Miss D it was still in the process of drafting the letters. I have seen a copy of the letter to residents but there is no record of when (or if) the letter was sent or to whom. I am unable to say with any certainty the letter was sent out or that monitoring took place about its impact, despite this being promised to Miss D. This is fault by the Council.
18. There is also an issue with the level of records kept by the Council. It has told me about monitoring works carried out by Officers but has been unable to produce much evidence to verify what activity took place and the outcome. As good practice we would expect a reasonable level of records. Without supporting evidence I am unable to verify what activity took place and whether it was effective.
19. Miss D asked the Council about using a smaller collection vehicle in November 2023. The Council told her it was not viable to use a smaller vehicle where the access issue was caused by poor parking. However, less than a month later the Council approved the use of a smaller van to collect waste for the street. I have not seen any evidence about how that decision was reached or when it was made. Whilst it is positive the Council did take action and has agreed to keep that vehicle in use for the street, it is unclear why it was not given more consideration earlier in the case.

Did the fault cause an injustice

20. Miss D was put to additional time and trouble pursuing her case with the Council.

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Agreed action

21. In order to remedy the faults identified in this case the Council has accepted my recommendations and will:
• Pay Miss D £100 for her time and trouble.
• Improve record keeping for monitoring activity on future missed collections. The Council may find it helpful to consider our focus report ‘Lifting the lid on bin complaints: learning to improve waste and recycling services’.
• Given there are still intermittent issues with parking and access the Council should also consider issuing another letter to residents about parking and keeping better records to show who the letter is sent to and when it is sent.
• If the Council receives three weeks of consecutive reports about missed collections for the street in 2024 it should start monitoring and ensure this is properly documented. It should also offer to discuss the case with Miss D.
22. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions within four weeks of the investigation closing.

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Final decision

23. I have upheld the complaint and completed the investigation.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman