Summary: Mr X complained about the Council not collecting his bins, and the reasons for its decision to offer him an alternative point for his waste to be collected. We found the Council at fault as it had not properly recorded evidence to support its decisions or shown consideration of Mr X’s concerns around the suitability of the collection point. This caused Mr X frustration and inconvenience. The Council has agreed to apologise to Mr X, reconsider the situation and make a new decision.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council has failed to collect his bins several times over many years. It has told him the road where he lives is in too poor a condition for its vehicle and have asked him to bag his waste and leave it at a specific point for collection. Mr X says this is a drive away and he cannot drive due to sight problems. This has caused him significant frustration and he says he has to burn his waste on his property.

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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. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
4. 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(1), as amended)

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What I have and have not investigated

5. Mr X previously made several complaints to the Council about sporadic waste collections over the previous five years. I do not consider there are good reasons why Mr X could not have complained to us sooner about these earlier events (see Paragraph 3), therefore I will be investigating from March 2024 (12 months prior to coming to us with this current complaint).

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How I considered this complaint

6. I discussed the complaint with Mr X and considered his views.
7. I made enquiries of the Council and considered its written responses and information it provided, as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
8. Mr X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Law and administrative background

Refuse collection

9. 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 people must use and where they must be placed.
10. The Council's practice is to make a weekly collection, rotating between household waste and recycling each week.

Background

11. Mr X lives in a rural area. His property is at the end of a lane, which is around a quarter of mile from the main road. Mr X is older and is not able to drive.

What happened – summary of key relevant events

12. In July 2024, Mr X contacted the Council, complaining about its regular failure to empty his bins.
13. In August 2024, the Council responded at Stage 1. It partly upheld his complaint and apologised for the inconvenience caused.
• The officer had visited Mr X and noted the road leading up to his property was in such poor condition to the extent it was unsuitable for the refuse vehicle to use. It said it was a Lincolnshire County Council (LCC - the relevant highways authority) maintained road.
• The Council said it was concerned the matter had only come to light now and the crew did not report this sooner.
• It noted Mr X wanted to leave his bin at the end of his private road which led to the edge of the public highway. It said it could not do this as there was no turning point for the refuse vehicle.
• It offered an alternative waste collection point and sacks for his waste for him to take and present them at the end of the lane for collection.
14. In January 2025, Mr X contacted the Council. He had not received the Stage 1 response as he did not have access to his email. He said waste services refused to collect, and the lane was a public highway. He escalated his complaint.
15. In February 2025, the Council responded at Stage 2 and did not uphold it. It was satisfied it had properly investigated his original complaint. It was aware he was now not presenting his waste at all and advised him to do so at the agreed point.
16. Mr X said to me the Council’s refuse vehicle used to always collect from the end of his private road and it would turn around in his yard with no issues, so did not understand why the Council used that as a reason. He said he had not reported missed collections since as he felt there was no point. As a result, he has been burning his waste on his property.

The Council’s response to my enquiries

17. In response to my enquiries, the Council said it did not have notes or evidence from site visits to Mr X’s property or lane. It did not have records on its waste crew collection system about issues with Mr X’s collections, such as access issues. It did not have records of any discussions with its crews about the matter. The Council said the road under LCC authority did not have a suitable turning point. The private land section is where it’s refuse vehicle cannot access.
18. I asked the Council if it had considered offering assisted collections. It said this would still require its refuse vehicle access to the road, which was the heart of the issue.

Analysis

19. The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. It is not our role to make decisions about waste collections – that is for a council to do. We consider the process a council followed to make its decisions and whether there was fault in the way the council investigated or what it considered when it made its decisions. We may also criticise a council if it has not considered relevant evidence or properly explained and evidenced its reasons for decisions.
20. The Council has a duty to arrange for the collection of waste and recycling, and it is entitled to decide from what location household waste is collected.
21. In this case, the Council says it is unable to continue to collect from Mr X’s property, but we would expect it to keep records and evidence to support its decision making. I do not consider the Council has done this with Mr X’s case, which I explain below, along with other concerns I have:
• There are no records or evidence highlighting the issues with the lane to Mr X’s property (such as an inspection report with its findings, which would be good administrative practice).
• There seems to be some inconsistency with the reasons the Council says it cannot collect waste from Mr X’s property. It initially said the lane leading up to his was in poor condition and not suitable for its refuse vehicles. It said LCC maintained this road. But I note the collection crew did not record this on its systems as a problem at the time or earlier. If this was the case, they should have done this to ensure an issue is picked up quickly. This is fault, which the Council acknowledged.
• This would indicate difficulties getting to Mr X’s property. But the Council has not explored options to address this alleged underlying lane condition. I note in response to me; it said the section of road under LCC authority does not have a suitable turning point. However, this is a slightly different issue as it indicates that if it could get to his property, it would have difficulty returning to the main road. The Council said Mr X’s yard is within the private road it cannot access. Mr X disputes this as he said the Council had always used his yard to turn around in and it was welcome to do so.
• If this is the case, I cannot see what has changed the Council’s view on this and why. This has not been explained to Mr X. This is fault, causing him avoidable confusion.
• The Council has offered Mr X an alternative waste collection point. This is for him to place sacks at the end of the lane. This is around a five-minute walk away on unlit and uneven surfaces. I note the Council has not considered assisted collections due to access issues. But I cannot see if, or how, the Council considered his reasons for why he was not presenting his waste there. For example, why it was satisfied with this collection point or whether it considered any safety or risk concerns given the distance to the end of the lane, the time taken to walk it and Mr X’s ability to physically take the sacks. It said it had explored other options, and it understood a neighbour had offered assistance with this, but I cannot see recorded evidence of this.
22. On balance, overall, I am not satisfied the Council evidenced proper consideration of Mr X’s situation or decision making around his waste collections. This is fault which has caused uncertainty and frustration for Mr X.
23. In response to my draft decision, the Council said it also reflected on the case and considered operational learning from it. This included implementing controls in how it obtained and retained evidence on its systems about waste access with reminders to staff. It recognised missed opportunities by its crew to address issues or prompt earlier engagement with Mr X. It had put a note to crews on their in-cab system to actively log any issues with rounds to help enable further investigations if necessary.
24. I welcome these proactive steps taken by the Council to demonstrate its commitment to learning and making improvements.

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Agreed Action

25. To remedy the injustice set out above, the Council has agreed to carry out the following actions within one month of the final decision:
• Apologise to Mr X in writing for the injustice caused by the faults identified (in line with our guidance on making an effective apology); and
• It should reconsider its decision and review its waste collection arrangements for Mr X. This should include evidencing any concerns it has about access issues and make a record of discussions with Mr X about it. It should record how it will address the access issues, or if it will not, why. It should show how it considered any alternative options for Mr X’s waste collection, including if it should assess him for assisted collections. It should record and explain its decision making and send a copy of its new decision to Mr X.
26. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

27. I find fault causing injustice. The Council has agreed to my recommendations to remedy the injustice. I have completed my investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman