Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s refusal to collect Mrs X’s bin from her front garden unless they are presented next to her path on the property boundary. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault, or to show the Council’s decision caused Mrs X significant injustice.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained the Council did not consider her mother’s disability when insisting it would only collect her household bins if they were placed at her home’s front boundary. She said this means that she must move heavy bins across the gravel in her front garden. This then displaces the gravel onto the path, which creates a hazard for her mother, who has poor vision.
2. Mrs X is also unhappy the Council suggested she may wish to make changes to her front garden to better accommodate her bins. She wants the council to agree to collect the bins from within her front garden without any changes.

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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
• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or

(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 Mrs X and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. The Council has a duty to collect household waste, but it can specify the method of collection including where and how bins are presented. Mrs X placed her bins in her front garden but did not comply with the Council’s policy to line them up by her front path next to the property boundary. As a result, her bins were not collected on several occasions.
7. The Council has provided Mrs X with copies of its policy and explained where she should position her bins for collection. It acknowledged her concerns about the gravel and suggested she may wish to alter her front garden to overcome the issue. Mrs X does not consider she should have to do this, or cover the cost of any works, and says the Council failed to consider her mother’s disability.
8. However, the presence of the gravel and the overall layout of the front garden is a matter which is entirely within Mrs X’s control. The Council’s policy on where the bins should be placed is clear and it has followed the policy in deciding whether to collect the bins and providing advice to Mrs X on the issue. It is therefore unlikely we would find fault in its handling of the matter.
9. Further, the injustice Mrs X claims is not sufficient to warrant an investigation. The inconvenience and obstructions suffered by Mrs X are the result of having a gravelled front garden, rather than any fault by the Council. Should Mrs X choose to remove the gravel she would be able to present her bins as required without any further problems for her or her mother.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council or to show the Council’s actions caused Mrs X significant injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman