Summary: Mrs X complained on behalf of Mr Y that the Council failed to empty his bins on several occasions. We find the Council at fault, causing frustration for Mr Y. The Council has already apologised to Mr Y, helped him to clear the waste at his property, and made service improvements. We consider this to be a suitable remedy.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained on behalf of Mr Y that Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council (the Council) failed to empty his bin on several occasions. This led to waste accumulating at the property which he was unable to dispose of himself due to disability. Mrs X said this caused distress and frustration, and affected Mr Y’s health and wellbeing.

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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 Mrs X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
5. Mrs 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 found

Household waste and recycling collections

6. 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.
7. 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.

What happened

8. Mr Y and Mrs X reported missed bin collections to the Council in January and February 2025. Mr Y had assisted collections in place, but these were not completed. Mr Y is disabled and so could not clear the waste himself.
9. The Council found some bin collections were missed because of access issues to the road and Mr Y’s property. The Council wrote to Mrs X at stage one of its complaint process in March 2025. It explained the access problems and that it had put measures in place to prevent further issues. This included introducing an electronic map system to its collection lorries. It also changed to a smaller collection vehicle as Mr Y’s road has narrow access. The Council apologised for the missed collections.
10. Mrs X made a report to the Council in June 2025 about further missed collections from April and May 2025. She also raised a stage two complaint on Mr Y’s behalf.
11. The Council responded to Mrs X’s stage two complaint in August 2025. It upheld her complaint and apologised again for the missed collections. It explained the measures put in place to prevent ingoing problems, including extra resources and prioritising assisted collections.
12. In August 2025 the Council visited Mr Y’s property and cleared the waste from missed collections that was in his garden. Staff also gave advice to Mr X about the need to clear overgrown plants on his property to help improve access. A manager from the team made a further visit in September 2025 and cleared some more waste. The Council has provided evidence it fully cleared waste from Mr Y’s property at both visits.

Analysis

13. The Council acknowledged there were missed bin collections which continued after the complaint response of March 2025. This was fault which caused Mr Y distress in the form of frustration.
14. The Council apologised and made several significant service improvements. Staff also attended Mr Y’s property to clear the extra waste. It could have visited sooner, although the Council did not receive reports of additional missed collections for two months. Based on the evidence, the amount of waste left from the missed collections was not large. Therefore, I do not consider the injustice caused to Mr Y due to any delay to be significant.
15. The Council has already carried out remedies by way of apology, attending Mr Y’s property to clear the waste, and by making changes to its waste collection procedures which are appropriate service improvements. I consider this a reasonable remedy.

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Decision

16. I find fault causing injustice. The Council has already completed actions to remedy the injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman