Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council refused to provide waste collection sacks as an alternative to a wheelie bin. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault, and an investigation is unlikely to achieve any other outcome.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council provided him with a wheelie bin for his waste collection which he said he had no space to store. Mr X said the Council refused his request to provide him with a waste collection sack as an alternative.
2. Mr X says the matter has caused him frustration.

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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:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.

(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 provided by the complainant.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council refused to provide him with waste collection sacks instead of a wheelie bin for his waste collection.
7. The Council has a waste collection policy. The Council changed its waste collection services so that most households in its area are provided with a wheelie bin.
8. The Council’s policy states that refuse sacks as an alternative to a wheelie bin will be provided if:
• there is insufficient space to store the bin;
• there are too many steps to the collection point; or
• the property is serviced by a specialist vehicle.
9. The Council determined Mr X has sufficient space at his property to store the wheelie bin. While Mr X may disagree with the Council’s decision, there is insufficient evidence of fault to warrant an investigation by the Ombudsman. Therefore, we will not investigate this complaint.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault, and an investigation is unlikely to achieve any other outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman