Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the location of waste bins close to the complainant’s home. There is not enough evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Ms X, complained the Council has not done enough to deal with problems caused by waste bins close to her home. Ms X’s home overlooks the bins. Ms X says large items of waste are often left at the bins with smaller items of waste blown around the street.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. In its final response to Ms X’s complaint the Council explained the steps taken to try and address the problem. These included the installation of bin enclosures and CCTV. The Council said it had tried to engage with residents and it issues Fixed Penalty Notices when it can identify fly-tippers.
6. While I understand Ms X’s concerns, we will not start an investigation into her complaint. It is for the Council to decide where to site the bins. I know Ms X would like the Council to do more. But it has taken steps to try and address the issue at the heart of Ms X’s complaint. Ultimately, these are decisions for the Council. The injustice to Ms X also flows mostly from the actions of those not properly disposing of their waste, rather than the Council’s decisions. The Council has provided proportionate and reasonable responses to Ms X’s complaint. There is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to warrant our involvement.

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Final decision

7. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman