Summary: Ms X complained the Council regularly missed bin collections after it approved a request to move a bin store area for the flats she lives in. The Council was at fault for not telling the residents there was a ten-metre limit for the crew to move the bins and for missing collections. This caused Ms X uncertainty, frustration and time and trouble. The Council has agreed to apologise and make a payment to Ms X.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained that after the Council approved a request to move the bin store area for the flats she lives in, it has regularly missed bin collections, and the refuse crew do not return the bins to the designated area after emptying them.
2. Ms X said the residents of the flats paid £4000 to move the bin store area to the rear garden after she had consulted with the Council. Ms X said the residents now have to move the heavy bins back to the bin store themselves, without the appropriate training. Ms X would like the Council to agree to collect and return the bins to the designated area.

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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).
4. When considering complaints we make findings based on the balance of probabilities. This means that we look at the available relevant evidence and decide what was more likely to have happened.
5. We investigate complaints about councils and certain other bodies. Where an individual, organisation or private company is providing services on behalf of a council, we can investigate complaints about the actions of these providers. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(1)(A) and 25(7), as amended).
6. 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

7. I considered evidence provided by Ms X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
8. Ms X and the Council have had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I have considered any comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

The Council’s waste collections process

9. Councils have a duty under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to collect household waste and recycling from properties in their area.
10. The Council’s main method of refuse collection is a fortnightly wheelie bin collection of non-recyclable and recyclable waste. For blocks of flats, the Council usually collects waste from communal bins on the ground floor. The Council’s website says residents in flats should put their waste in bags inside the bins, not next to or near the bins.
11. The Council’s Waste and Recycling Storage and Collection Requirements policy says that waste collection workers should not move a Eurobin (a type of wheelie bin), or similar wheeled waste container more than 10 metres in total.

What happened

12. In January 2024, Ms X contacted the Council to ask for advice about moving the bin store area for the flats she lives in, as the current location was attracting fly tipping and vermin. The Council visited the area the following week and agreed to move the bins from the kerbside back to an original bin storage area behind the flats. It advised Ms X the residents would need to carry out works for the bins to be moved. This included re-landscaping the path, widening the entrance to the bin enclosure and building a wall alongside the path. The residents completed this work.
13. Following a site visit in late January 2024, to assess the health and safety of the proposed relocation site, the Council approved moving the bins back to their original bin store area.
14. Several weeks later, the Council confirmed to Ms X the bins had been relocated to the bin store. Later that month, Ms X contacted the Council to report the crew had not emptied the bins and they were now overflowing with waste. The Council said it had told the waste contractor about the issue and asked it to check its system was correct and the crew were aware of the new location of the bins.
15. During March and April 2024, several residents reported to the Council that the crew had not collected the bins and they were now overflowing and attracting foxes and vermin. The Council responded in April 2024 to say it was aware of the issues and that it had escalated the matter to a senior manager at the waste contractor. The Council also confirmed the crew should be emptying the bins for the flats every week.
16. A few days later, the Council told Ms X the crew had not been emptying the bins due to health and safety concerns about how far they had to move the bins between the kerbside and the bin store. The Council confirmed that during the site visit in late January 2024, the waste contractor had approved moving the bins to the bin store. The following day, Ms X told the Council the crew had emptied the recycling bin and returned it to the bin store. Ms X said the crew had also emptied the waste bins but had left them on the footpath. The Council responded that it had reminded the crew it was important to get this right.
17. There is no record of any further correspondence regarding the bins until February 2025, when Ms X complained to the Council about the refuse crew emptying the bins and then leaving them outside the gate to the bin store, which meant the residents had to move them back to the bin store. Ms X said the residents spent a lot of time, effort and money on re-landscaping the garden to move the bins and she had consulted the Council to make sure the design met the health and safety requirements.
18. On 15 March 2025, the Council responded that it had carried out a site visit to look into the matter. The Council said it found the crew were not returning the bins because of health and safety regulations, which said they were not expected to move the bins more than 10 metres from the collection point. The Council said the bin store was more than 10 metres from the collection point, and so this exceeded the crew’s safe working limit. Ms X said this was the first time the Council had told her about the 10-metre limit.
19. Ms X escalated her complaint to stage two in April 2025. The Council responded saying the waste contractor’s officer who approved moving the bins had now left but it had since found the bin store was more than 10 metres from the collection point. The Council said it partly upheld Ms X’s complaint as it had not communicated the 10-metre limit to her during earlier discussions. The Council apologised for the lack of clear guidance and for any confusion caused.
20. Ms X complained to the Ombudsman in May 2025 about the Council having previously approved moving the bins with no mention of health and safety concerns.
21. In late October 2025, Ms X told the Ombudsman the current situation was the residents move the bins from the bin store to the footpath and the crew then collect the bins from there. The crew then return the bins to the footpath, and the residents take them back inside the bin store.
22. The Council told the Ombudsman in February 2026 it had reviewed its approval process for future bin store relocations. It said this will make sure it tells residents of any constraints and safety limits before it approves residents to complete works.

My findings

23. The Council’s policy states that waste crews should not move large bins more than 10 metres in total. The Council later found the new bin store location was more than 10 metres from the collection point. This meant it did not expect the crew to collect and return the bins from the bin store.
24. Ms X consulted the Council about moving the bins to behind the flats, and the Council carried out at least two site visits to the area. At least one of these visits involved the Council assessing the health and safety of the proposed site for the bins. The Council accepted it did not tell the residents about the 10-metre limit before they paid for the works to move the bins. This was fault. It caused Ms X time and effort in reporting the missed bin collections and discussing the reasons for the crew not collecting and returning the bins. It also meant Ms X has had to move the bins between the collection point and the bin store. It has also caused Ms X frustration and uncertainty about whether the crew would collect the bins each week and when the Council would resolve the problem.
25. The Council has no record of exactly what advice it or its contractor gave Ms X in January 2024. On balance, it is likely it agreed for the bins to be relocated without properly considering its regulations. This fault caused Ms X injustice.
26. If the Council had told the residents about the proposed bin store exceeding the 10-metre distance limit from the collection point, they may or may not have decided to continue with paying for the works.

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Action

27. Within one month of the final decision, the Council has agreed to take the following action:
1. Apologise to Ms X for the uncertainty and frustration caused by not giving clear advice about relocating the bins, and for the time and trouble it caused Ms X by her having to repeatedly report missed bin collections. 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 I have recommended in my findings.
2. Pay Ms X £150 for the uncertainty and frustration caused by not giving clear advice about relocating the bins, and for the time and trouble it caused Ms X by her having to repeatedly report missed bin collections.
28. Within three months of the final decision, the Council has agreed to review the situation and propose a long-term solution that resolves the problems with collections and vermin in a way the contractor can comply with. It has agreed to fully fund any additional works or bin relocation, recognising its fault caused Ms X and the other residents to spend money on a failed solution.
29. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

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

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman