Summary: Mr X complained the Council repeatedly left his bin in the middle of the public footpath outside his property, rather than returning it to his property after emptying it. The Council was at fault, which caused Mr X frustration. The Council has agreed to apologise and make a payment to Mr X, monitor his future collections and create an action plan to ensure the refuse crew return his bin correctly after emptying.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council repeatedly left his bin in the middle of the public footpath outside his property, rather than returning it to his property after emptying it. He said the Council previously left his bin in the middle of his driveway, which obstructed access to his property when he parked his car. He wants the Council to ensure the refuse crew return the bin to where they collect it from, monitor the next few collections and take disciplinary action against the crew if necessary.

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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. 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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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered evidence provided by Mr X, the Council and the Council’s website.
5. Mr X and the Council have had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

The Council’s waste collections and complaints process

6. Councils have a duty under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to collect household waste and recycling from properties in their area.
7. The Council’s main method of refuse collection is a three-weekly wheelie bin collection of non-recyclable waste. It collects recycling in boxes and bags separately every week.
8. The Council’s website says residents should put bins and containers out for collection at the edge of their property, which includes the end of their driveway where it meets the public footpath. Residents can request assisted collections, where the Council will collect bins from an agreed location and return it to the same place.
9. The Council’s corporate complaints process says it will aim to reply to stage one complaints within 10 working days and stage two complaints within 17 working days.

What happened

10. In October 2024, Mr X complained to the Council that after the refuse crew had emptied his bin, they were leaving it in the middle of his driveway. This meant he had to get out of his car on a busy road to move the bin before parking.
11. On 19 November 2024, Mr X complained to the Council that the refuse crew were now leaving his bin on the public footpath instead of returning it where to he had asked. Mr X sent a further email to the Council in early December 2024, stating the issue was still happening. Mr X told the Council he thought the crew had a personal vendetta against him because of the earlier complaint.
12. The Council visited Mr X’s property in December 2024, January 2025 and February 2025 to discuss the issue with him.
13. On 28 February 2025, the Council emailed Mr X to apologise that it had not responded to his previous complaints and said it would escalate his complaint to stage two. On 7 March 2025, the Council sent a stage two complaint response to Mr X, apologising for the poor service from the crew. The Council said it would monitor the next few collections to make sure the crew were following the instructions on where to return the bin after emptying it. The Council also said it would take severe disciplinary action against the crew if the issue continued.
14. In early April 2025, Mr X told his local councillor the issue was still happening. The councillor contacted the Council, who said Mr X’s complaint had completed the complaints process. Mr X complained to the Ombudsman in early May 2025, saying the issue was continuing. Mr X told the Ombudsman in mid-October 2025 the issue was still happening.

My findings

15. The Council has failed to return Mr X’s main refuse bin to his property for around 11 months. While Mr X did not have an assisted collection, the Council accepted this was poor service by its crews. The Council has visited Mr X’s property on at least three occasions about this matter, but it did not resolve the issue. This was fault, causing Mr X frustration over the issue.
16. The Council also did not respond to Mr X’s stage one complaint within 10 working days and did not contact him to apologise for this for over three months. This was also fault. It caused Mr X uncertainty over whether the Council would resolve the issue and time and trouble pursuing the matter.
17. The Council’s failure to resolve the issue caused injustice to Mr X’s neighbour and potentially affected members of the public as the bin partially blocked the footpath. However, we can only consider the injustice to Mr X, as he has made the complaint.

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Action

18. Within one month of the final decision, the Council has agreed to:
1. Apologise to Mr X for the frustration and uncertainty caused by not responding to his stage one complaint and by not resolving the issue of returning his bin to his property. We publish guidance on remedies which sets out our expectations for how organisations should apologise effectively to remedy injustice. The organisation should consider this guidance in making the apology.
2. Pay Mr X £150 for the frustration caused by the Council not responding to his stage one complaint and the time and effort he spent contacting the Council about this issue.
19. Within three months of the final decision, the Council has agreed to:
1. Create an action plan on how it will ensure the refuse crew will return the bin to the location Mr X has asked for future collections.
2. Monitor Mr X’s collections to ensure the crew returns his bin to his property correctly. The Council should confirm Mr X is satisfied with the situation before it stops monitoring the collections.
20. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

21. I find fault causing injustice which the Council has agreed to remedy.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman