Summary: Mr X complained the Council repeatedly failed to collect his domestic waste and failed to resolve the reasons behind the missed collections. The Council was at fault, which caused Mr X frustration and distress. The Council has agreed to apologise to Mr X, carry out monitoring of future collections, and review Mr X’s bin allocation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council repeatedly failed to collect his domestic waste and failed to resolve the reasons behind the missed collections. He wants the Council to ensure it completes future collections, apologise, and compensate him for the frustration it has caused.

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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 have 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 places his domestic waste in a communal bin store for several properties. Throughout 2023 he reported repeated missed bin collections to the Council, resulting in him complaining to the Council in November 2023.
10. In December 2023 the Council rolled out changes to its collection services and changed Mr X’s collection day to a Monday. It responded to Mr X’s complaint later in December. It apologised for the repeated missed collections. It said it would not miss any more collections following the change of collection day.
11. The Council continued to miss Mr X’s collections. When Mr X reported the missed collections, it arranged for one off extra collections. In February 2024 the Council said it would make sure Mr X’s collections took place. Mr X complained again in March 2024.The Council responded saying the missed collections were now due to a change in its collection services. It said it had asked its waste crews to confirm future collections.
12. Mr X continued to report missed collections. The Council visited Mr X in May 2024 to try and resolve the issues. It said some bins in the communal bin store were contaminated with incorrect waste. It said it would review the site’s bin allocation. Mr X said the missed collections were not always due to contaminated bins.
13. In June 2024 the Council told Mr X it had tried to resolve the situation. It accepted it had missed some collections due to new collection crews being unfamiliar with the location, and some because of contaminated bins. It said it would continue to monitor the collections.
14. Mr X reported another missed collection in July 2024 and complained to the Ombudsman.

My findings

15. The Council failed to collect Mr X’s household waste over several months. When Mr X reported missed collections, the Council did arrange one off collections but it failed to resolve the issue and the missed collections continued. As a result Mr X faced a period of avoidable frustration as he tried to get the Council to collect the waste. This is fault.
16. The Council has repeatedly told Mr X it has taken steps to address the issues. However, it continues to miss collections. This has left Mr X with a level of uncertainty over the reliability of future collections.

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Agreed action

17. Within one month of the final decision the Council has agreed to take the following action:
1. Apologise to Mr X for the impact of failing to repeatedly collect his domestic waste. We publish guidance on remedies which sets out our expectations for how organisations should apologise effectively to remedy injustice. The organisation should consider this guidance in making the apology I have recommended.
2. Carry out the review of the bin allocation at the bin store and take the necessary steps to prevent further contamination of bins by residents.
3. Monitor Mr X’s next six collections to ensure they are collected successfully. The Council should confirm Mr X is satisfied with his collection before stopping monitoring the collections.
18. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

19. I have completed my investigation and found fault, causing injustice, for which I have recommended a remedy.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman