Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about missed recycling collections because the Council has provided a satisfactory response.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, complains about missed recycling collections. He wants the Council to hire staff who can do the job.

Back to top

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 provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council. This includes the complaint correspondence and information from the Council. I also considered our Assessment Code.

Back to top

My assessment

4. Mr X reported a missed recycling collection in February and said the bins were left on the street for days. He complained that some properties received a collection while others were missed. Mr X suggested the Council should use a different contractor and said he had had problems reporting missed collections on the website.
5. The Council explained that parking issues were causing access problems for the collection vans. It said reported missed collections are collected as soon as possible. It said it would write to residents about parking on collection days and it would pass on his comments about the website and consider whether access problems could be more clearly recorded.
6. In response to my enquiries the Council said the recycling van was wider and encountered more access problems. The Council has started using a smaller van for the recycling. The Council also said it has written to residents explaining the contractor has had access problems due to parked cars and asking people to avoid parking on the road during collection hours.
7. Missed collections are frustrating and annoying. However, I will not investigate this complaint because the Council has provided a satisfactory response. It explained what was going on, arranged to collect the missed collection, switched to a smaller van, wrote to residents and passed on Mr X’s comments about the website. I appreciate it took a few days for the Council to come back to collect the recycling in February but, overall, this is a satisfactory response and we would not ask the Council to do anything more at this stage.

Back to top

Final decision

8. We will not investigate this complaint because the Council has provided a satisfactory response.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman