Summary: Mr X complained the Council repeatedly missed his bin collection. We find the Council at fault for the further missed collections following Mr X’s complaint. We also find it at fault for poor record keeping of missed collections. This caused Mr X frustration and distress. The Council will apologise and review its collection monitoring procedures.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council repeatedly missed his bin collection. He also said it failed to carry out his assisted collections and did not always return his bin.
2. Mr X says this has impacted his quality of life and he feels the Council are harassing him.

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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. 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

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

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What I have not investigated

7. Mr X says the Council did not always return his bins to the correct location. However, he told us he has not reported this to the Council. I have not investigated this issue because the Council has not had an opportunity to investigate or respond to it.

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What I found

Legislation and guidance

Household waste and recycling collections

8. 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 or boxes people must use.
9. Councils normally expect people to move their bins to the pavement in front of their property, to allow it to be easily collected. However, a council may decide to provide an assisted collection to a person if they are unable to move their bins because of a disability. Under an assisted collection, the crew will enter the person’s property, such as their garden or driveway, to collect the bins, and then return them to their storage place afterwards.

The Councils bin collection process

10. The Council waste policy (6.1) says “The Council will make every effort to empty bins presented for collection on the scheduled day. If the Council is unable to empty bins on the scheduled day of collection, then, provided the missed collection is reported within 24 hours, the Council will seek to complete the collection within one full working day of the report of a valid missed collection. However, if the Council is unable to do this, the bin will be collected on the next scheduled collection day.”
11. The Council will not return to empty bins when the bins are presented in the incorrect location.
12. The Council defines an assisted collection as the collection of a bin by the collection crews from an agreed collection point within the curtilage of the property, returning the bin(s) to that location after they have been emptied. The agreed collection point should be outside and freely accessible without engagement with the householder as close to the adopted highway as is reasonably practicable. Bins will not be collected from the rear of the property, or from any areas that need to be accessed by side gates.
13. In agreeing the designated collection point, due consideration will be given by the Council to any health and safety risks associated with access onto the property. Site visits by a member of the Waste & Recycling team may be necessary to assess the most suitable collection point.

What happened

14. Between July 2024 and June 2025, Mr X submitted ten reports to the Council that his bin had not been collected.
15. In April 2025, Mr X complained to the Council about repeated missed bin collections. He also said he had requested support to move the bins, which had been ignored.
16. In May, the waste team responded and apologised for the collection issues Mr X had experienced. It confirmed the address was on the assisted collection list and said it would monitor the collections at the property in the coming weeks to ensure crews were not missing the address.
17. During May, Mr X sent several emails to the Council repeating his concerns. He said his bin had again not been collected and described the Council’s conduct as unacceptable. He also said he could contact the Ombudsman. Mr X included a photograph showing his bin had not been collected.
18. In early June, the Council responded. It said it had reviewed the collections and the attached photograph. It said the bin had been missed because it had been placed on the public highway. It also said there had been a change in June 2024 which required bins to be brought to the end of the property for collection. However, it highlighted that assisted collections had now been confirmed for Mr X following his complaint.
19. The Council said in its response to Mr X, the assisted collections had since taken place, and no reports had been raised.
20. In September, Mr X complained to us. He said the Council had lied to him and were not collecting his bins. He also complained about delays in the Council responding to his complaint. He said missed collections were causing a health hazard due to the smell from uncollected waste.

Council response to my enquiries

21. The Council told us Mr X is on its assisted collection list. However, it could not confirm the exact date the service started. It believes this was sometime in summer 2024. It provided correspondence with Mr X which stated that assisted collections had taken place.
22. The Council said there were seven missed bin reports logged between January 2025 and August 2025. However, it said the system does not record the outcome of individual missed reports. The reports show a status of either active, cancelled or resolved, but it does not provide any further detail.
23. The Council explained that when a resident reports a missed collection through the online portal, the report is sent to the collection crews who complete missed collection rounds.
24. The Council also said it carried out monitoring at Mr X’s address in February 2026. It explained the records of earlier monitoring could not be located. The February monitoring showed collections were taking place weekly and there were no missed collections.

My findings

25. The Council could not confirm when Mr X’s assisted collection service started and provided inconsistent information about this. It said summer 2024, but its complaint response stated this had been implemented following the complaint process. The Council also had no written record of the arrangements. This demonstrates poor record keeping and communication, which is fault.
26. The Council recorded multiple reports of missed collections. Three of these occurred in May, June and August, after Mr X’s complaint in April. Despite the Council’s assurances of closer monitoring, missed collections continued. This suggests the Council did not take effective action to resolve the issue, which is fault.
27. However, when I spoke to Mr X, he said he was not monitoring how long it took for the Council to return following a missed collection. He said collections may have taken place the next day or within a few days. As collections are weekly, the available evidence does not suggest he was left without a collection service for a prolonged period.
28. Given the lack of detailed records and limited evidence from Mr X about how long collections were missed, I cannot determine, on balance, whether there was fault in how the Council responded to reports of missed collections.
29. The Council’s records show no missed collection reports have been made since August 2025. It also carried out monitoring in February 2026 which showed collections were taking place weekly, with no missed collections.
30. Mr X said the Council not collecting his bins amounted to harassment. I do not find the Council’s actions amount to harassment. However, the faults identified caused Mr X avoidable frustration and some distress.

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Action

31. To remedy the injustice by the above faults, within four weeks of the date of my final decision, the Council will apologise to Mr X for the further missed collections in line with our guidance on Making an effective apology.
32. Within three months of my final decision, the Council will consider what changes are necessary to ensure it keeps a complete and accurate record of assisted collection arrangements. It should also consider how it records missed collections and details of how it responds to them.
33. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above action.

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Decision

34. I find fault causing injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman