Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the waste collection practices of the Council’s bin crews. There is insufficient significant personal injustice to Mr X from the matters complained of to warrant us investigating. Investigation would also not achieve a different outcome.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains some Council bin crews have:
1. left his emptied bins several doors away from his property;
2. blocked the footway with emptied bins;
3. transferred waste from his bin to another before taking the filled bin to the lorry;
4. left open the lids of emptied bins;
5. mishandled and dropped recycling containers.
2. Mr X says the noise created by some of the bin crews’ practices has affected his sleep. He says he has spent time raising and repeating the same unresolved issues. Mr X says having to clean bins and remove water from bins left open to rain aggravates a physical condition he has. He says the Council not being able to resolve his complaints has caused him distress and anxiety around each bin collection and he has lost faith in the Council.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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:

• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained; or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement; or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information from Mr X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Some of the issues Mr X complains of, such as emptied bins not being left directly outside his house, and noise from the crew’s activity, would be a feature of most bin collections. Bins may be moved and emptied a distance away from a property depending on where the collection lorry can stop. Crews may therefore not place emptied bins close to where a resident keeps them. Only those receiving an assisted bin collection would have their bins returned by the crews to their storage point. If Mr X considers his household would qualify for an assisted collection, he may wish to apply for one with the Council. Bin collections will involve some noise which may disturb residents depending on the time of day. We could not say it is additional noise from the crew’s waste collection activities he complains of which was the noise which has affected Mr X’s sleep.
6. Even if we were to consider all the matters he has raised are fault, we will not investigate. We recognise the issues Mr X has presented about the Council’s bin collections have caused him some annoyance, upset and frustration. He has also spent time pursuing the matters and lost faith in the Council. But these impacts, along with the impacts from other matters complained of, do not amount to a sufficiently significant personal injustice to him which justifies us using our resources and investigating.
7. The Council upheld Mr X’s complaint and apologised to him. Officers have advised him they have spoken to bin staff about the way they leave and handle emptied bins, and reminded them they should not be moving waste from one bin to another before collection, leaving bins open, or making excessive noise. Were we to investigate here, the apology and reminders to staff are the actions we are likely to have sought from the Council. Investigation would not achieve a different outcome so we will not do so.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because:
• there is insufficient significant personal injustice to him to warrant us investigating; and
• investigation would not achieve a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman