Summary: Mr X complained the Council failed to collect his rubbish and respond when he reported the missed collections. The Council was at fault. This caused Mr X avoidable frustration. The Council has since collected the waste, apologised, and put measures in place to ensure it completes future collections.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council failed to collect his rubbish between December 2023 and May 2024 and failed to respond to his reports of missed collections during this time. He says this led to a build-up of rubbish at his home, and frustration in repeatedly asking the Council to collect the rubbish. He wants the Council to collect the rubbish and respond to future missed collections promptly.

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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. I have considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
5. Mr X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered their comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

The Council’s waste collections

6. 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.
7. The Council’s main method of refuse collection is either a fortnightly wheelie bin collection or a weekly refuse bag collection for homes that cannot store a wheelie bin. It collects recycling separately every fortnight.
8. The Council’s policy is that it will aim to collect refuse and recycling on the scheduled day. If it misses a collection it will return to collect it.

What happened

9. Mr X disposes of his household waste in refuse bags which the Council collects weekly. In December 2023 Mr X reported missed rubbish collections every week for three consecutive weeks. The Council responded saying it had returned to complete the collections. Mr X said it had not.
10. Mr X complained in January 2024. He said the Council had failed to collect rubbish from the entire street and failed to return when he reported a missed collection. The Council missed a further collection before responding to Mr X’s complaint in February 2024. It accepted it had failed to collect Mr X’s waste and apologised. It said this was due to recent changes in its waste collection service, combined with staff shortages. It said it had now made changes to resolve the issues.
11. The Council missed another collection in March 2023 and Mr X complained to the Ombudsman. Following Mr X’s complaint to the Ombudsman the Council visited Mr X to discuss the issue. It collected all remaining waste and said it would ensure crews completed future collections.

My findings

12. The Council failed to collect Mr X’s household waste over several months and failed to return when Mr X reported the missed collections. As a result Mr X faced a period of avoidable frustration as he tried to get the Council to collect the waste. The Council has since apologised and put measures in place to ensure Mr X’s waste is collected in future. I consider this an appropriate remedy for the impact in Mr X.

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Final decision

13. I have completed my investigation and found fault by the Council which caused injustice, which the Council has already remedied.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman