Three Rivers District Council (24 019 740)
Category : Environment and regulation > Refuse and recycling
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 09 Apr 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint the Council’s bin collections are too early. Any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.
The complaint
- Mr X complained the Council’s bin collections started too early. He said that meant he was regularly awoken just after 6am by the bin crews collecting household waste. He said the Council had not provided a consistent explanation for the early starts. He wants the Council to arrange collection later in the day.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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 injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint the Council’s bin collections are too early. Firstly, we will normally only investigate a complaint where the complainant has suffered serious loss, harm or distress as a direct result of faults or failures by an organisation. Although disruptive for Mr X, we would not consider this a significant injustice.
- In addition, there is nothing prohibiting the Council from completing household bin collections early in the morning. The Council has explained that is to prevent its crews getting stuck in rush-hour traffic. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify our involvement.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman