Summary: Mr X complained that between March 2023 and February 2024 the Council mismanaged its waste collection service resulting in many missed bin collections from his property. The Council accepts its service fell below expected standards during this period but has now provided additional resources and the service is operating as expected. A suitable remedy is agreed.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains that between March 2023 and February 2024 the Council mismanaged the waste collection service.
2. Mr X says this resulted in many missed bin collections from his property.

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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 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)
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 the complainant;
• made enquiries of the Council and considered the comments and documents the Council provided;
• discussed the issues with the complainant;
• sent my draft decision to both the Council and the complainant and taken account of their comments in reaching my final decision.

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What I found

Household waste and recycling 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.

Operator’s licence

7. An operator’s licence is the legal authority needed to operate goods vehicles in Great Britain. A licence is issued by the Traffic Commissioner, the independent regulator of the commercial road transport industry. The Traffic Commissioner also has powers to take regulatory action against licence holder where they fail to meet the expected standards of operation. This action includes the permanently removing an operator’s licence to operate commercial vehicles-revocation.

Key facts

8. This section sets out the key events in this case and is not intended to be a detailed chronology.
9. Mr X’s waste collections are scheduled to take place every Friday. Food waste should be collected weekly with alternating fortnightly collections for recycling and general waste. The general waste is collected in black bags and not a wheelie bin.
10. Mr X complains about problems with waste collections throughout 2023. He says that in 2022 the Council was aware that Essex County Council intended to close a local waste transfer station and turn it into a highways depot. Mr X says the Council failed assess the impact this would have on bin collections in its area. The closure of the waste transfer station meant the Council had to use another location 20 miles away. The extra journey time affected the ability of the collection teams to complete all the rounds. It appears that Mr X’s property is located towards the end of a waste collection round meaning this area experienced a large number of missed collections.
11. In July 2023, the Council’s transport manager left his post. In August, the Traffic Commissioner wrote to the Council saying its operator licence was at risk because of the lack of a suitably qualified transport manage. On 23 January 2024, after failing to appoint a new transport manager, the Traffic Commissioner revoked the licence which meant the refuse lorries could not operate for a period of 14 days.
12. The Council says that during this 14-day period, it worked with private waste collection companies and a neighbouring council to continue to collect some waste. The Council has not provided any specific information about what collections took place during this period or whether collections were missed at Mr X’s property.
13. Mr X has provided a list of some of the missed collections from his property. The list covers the period between 10 March 2023 and 23 February 2024. He says that it was in January 2024 when he went without a food waste collection for three weeks and no recycling collection for four weeks that he made a formal complaint.
14. Mr X complained on 11 January 2024. He had a limited response from the Council on 26 January in which the Council said that it was working to resolve the issue with the operating licence and so could not provide a detailed response. It said updates would be posted on social media and the Council’s website.
15. The Council provided a further response to Mr X’s complaint on 22 February. Mr X had asked the Council four specific questions about the waste collections in his complaint. The Council provided a general response rather than replying to Mr X’s specific questions. It explained about the loss of the staff member, the closure of the nearest waste transfer centre and the loss of the operator’s licence. It said that as part of the next budget, it was considering increasing the number of bin crews as well as replacing some lorries so it could provide a more reliable service.
16. Mr X says that since March 2024 the collections have been reliable from his property and he does not think any have been missed.

Analysis

17. The Council accepts its waste collection service was not operating as it should during the period of time this complaint covers. There was a lack of capacity which meant some collections were missed. The revocation of the operator’s licence affected the level of service. The closure of the nearest waste transfer site also impacted on the time available to collection crews meaning properties located at the end of the collection rounds were regularly missed. This is fault.
18. Mr X has reported numerous missed collections from his property. I asked the Council about this and whether its records match Mr X’s. The Council does not have any records to show which areas were affected by incomplete collection rounds. It says it cannot therefore confirm that Mr X’s records are accurate. However the Council accepts that there were significant problems with the collections and that its service was not good enough. Therefore, I take the view, on balance, that Mr X’s records of missed collections are an accurate reflection of the lack of service.
19. The continued and repeated failure to provide collections as expected caused Mr X frustration. He was also put to avoidable time and trouble in raising this issue with the Council. I consider a symbolic payment should be made to Mr X to recognise the frustration caused.
20. I am pleased to note the Council has now provided extra resources and increased the number of collection crews. Based on the information provided by Mr X this has resolved the situation and his waste collections are now happening regularly. I therefore will not make any service improvement recommendations.

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Agreed action

21. To remedy the injustice caused to Mr X as result of the fault identified above, the Council will, within one month of my final decision, take the following action:
• Make a written apology to Mr X; and
• Make Mr X a symbolic payment of £200 to recognise his frustration and time and trouble in pursuing this complaint.
22. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

23. I have completed my investigation with a finding of fault for the reasons explained in this statement. The Council has agreed to implement the actions I have recommended. These appropriately remedy any injustice caused by fault.

Investigator’s draft decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman