Summary: Miss X complained that although she should receive assisted collections the Council repeatedly failed to collect her household waste while collecting her neighbours’. Mrs X also complained that when her bin was emptied the collection crew did not return it to her property. We found the Council’s repeated failure to collect Mrs X’s household waste and return her bin in line with its assisted collection service is fault. This fault has caused Mrs X an injustice. The Council will apologise and make a payment to Mrs X.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained that although she should receive assisted collections, the Council repeatedly failed to collect her household waste despite collecting her neighbours’ waste.
2. Miss X also complained that when the Council does collect her waste the collection crew do not always return her bin to her property. She says her bin is left blocking her drive, on the pavement or blocking her neighbour’s drive and she is unable to move it herself.
3. In addition Miss X complained the Council wrongly swapped her larger bin with a smaller one without discussing this with her. She says the Council then denied taking the larger bin and delayed in replacing it.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. 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 recommend a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
5. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
6. In January 2025 the Council’s waste collection crews began industrial action. This began with specific strike days each week when waste would not be collected. Then from 11 March 2025 it became an all-out strike. The Council suspended recycling collections when industrial action began and then declared a major incident on 31 March 2025 to address the impact of the industrial action. This has resulted in missed collections for a large proportion of the Council’s residents.
7. Miss X has complained of missed collections during the strike action but we have investigated her complaint as she appears to be affected more than most. Miss X should receive assisted collections which have been missed while her neighbour’s waste has been regularly collected during the strike action.
8. 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.
9. 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

10. I considered evidence provided by Miss X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
11. Miss 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

Refuse and recycling collections

12. Councils have a duty under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to arrange for the collection of household waste and recycling from properties in its area. The collections do not have to be weekly and councils can decide the type of bins or boxes people must use.
13. The Council's general practice is to make a weekly household waste collection and a fortnightly recycling collection. This practice has been amended during the industrial action.
14. The Council provides an assisted collection service for people who are unable to move their bins and boxes due to a disability or age. The Council should collect the bins from the storage point and return them to the same point.
15. Under normal circumstances when a resident reports a missed collection, the Depot will ask the crew to return to complete the round as soon as possible. When the Council has completed the collection, it closes the report. The Council stopped actioning reports of missed collections during the industrial action.

What happened here

16. Miss X says there have been problems with her assisted collections since she moved into the property several years ago, but the service has been worse since January 2025. She complains the Council repeatedly failed to collect her household waste throughout 2025. Miss X should receive assisted collections but she says her bins are often missed when her neighbours’ are collected.
17. The Council’s records show Miss X reported 14 missed collections between March and December 2025. It says that the missed collections in March and April 2025 were due to the collection crews leaving the depot late due to blockading and catching up on previous missed collections. The collections between May and December 2025 were then made by an external company due to the industrial action.
18. In addition to reporting missed collections, Miss X also made formal complaints about the waste collection service. Following her complaint in early August 2025 the Council apologised for the missed collections. It said agency staff were supporting collections during the industrial action and this had led to an oversight by the crews. The Council said it had raised the matter with the depot and requested the waste be cleared as soon as possible. The Council had also arranged for additional reminders for the crews but said it could not guarantee this would ensure collections were made.
19. Miss X made a further complaint in September 2025. She told the Council she was tired of making a complaint almost every other week about missed collections or her bin not being returned. Miss X said that although her bin was emptied the previous week the crew had left it in the middle of her neighbour’s drive and they had had to return it for her. This week her bin had not been collected so was already full and side waste was accumulating.
20. Miss X complained that she was the only person whose rubbish was not collected on a regular basis when the rest of the street was collected. She felt discriminated due to her disabilities and needing an assisted collection. She asked the Council to ensure her rubbish was collected each week when her neighbours’ was collected and that her bin was returned to her property.
21. The Council responded on 7 October 2025 and upheld her complaint. It said Miss X’s collections were being done by another authority. The Council had passed the complaint to the management team and asked them to remind the crew of the need to carry out assisted collections.
22. Miss X was not satisfied by the Council’s response as the problems continued. She asked for her complaint to be considered further. Miss X also complained the collection crew had taken her large bin and replaced it with a smaller one that did not meet her needs. She was unhappy the Council had suggested her bin had been stolen, when her CCTV showed the Council had removed.
23. The Council’s response apologised for any confusion and the misinformation about the exchange of the bins. It confirmed the Council’s waste service had exchanged the bins as there was no clinical record of the requirement for a larger bin on file. It had now reviewed its records and noted Miss X had applied for a larger bin and the Council had accepted this. The Council agreed to provide a replacement large bin as soon as possible.
24. In addition the Council confirmed it had reminded the service manager that Miss X receives assisted collections and that her bin should be emptied and put back accordingly.
25. As there were further missed collections Miss X asked the Ombudsman to investigate her complaint. She said the Council has replaced her large bin but had missed consecutive collections. Miss X said the accumulated waste was attracting vermin and cats and that even when her bin was collected, the crews did not always take all of the side waste. She said this was exacerbating her health conditions and adding to her anxiety and depression.
26. In response to my enquiries the Council says the service has been under increased pressure due to the industrial action. At times crews could not even leave the depot due to physical blockades. This meant no collections could be made. The Council says the Miss X’s missed collections were not as a result of discrimination as the disruption was city wide rather than an individual issue. It says the service has stabilised since January 2026.
27. The Council says it has highlighted Miss X’s property with the depot management team and crews to ensure assisted collections have been carried out since December 2025. It says Miss X had not made any complaints about the waste service in 2026.
28. Miss X has confirmed the waste collection service has improved in 2026. She says the crews are now emptying and then returning her bin to her property.

Analysis

29. It is clear from the Council’s records that it repeatedly failed to collect Miss X’s household waste throughout 2025. The Council says the missed collections were due to the industrial action and affected all residents, not just Miss X. However the documentation provided does not support this.
30. The records show Miss X has reported 14 missed collections. Had Miss X’s neighbours been affected in the same way it is reasonable to expect that they would also have reported a similar number of missed collections. Only one of Miss X’s neighbours reported missed collections in 2025. They reported two in February 2025, one in March 2025 and one in July 2025.
31. Miss X did not report any of these specific collections as missed. Her complaints acknowledged the industrial action and she specifically complained about collections that were missed when the rest of her street’s bins are emptied.
32. Based on the documentation available I consider it more likely than not that the Council repeatedly missed Miss X’s assisted collections when collecting her neighbour’s waste. And that it did not routinely return her bin to the collection point when it was emptied. These failings in the assisted collection service amount to fault.
33. All collection crews, whether they are the regular crew or a replacement crew, are provided with details of assisted collections on the route so the service should not have been impacted in this way by the industrial action. When crews attended Miss X’s road they should have collected Miss X’s household waste along with her neighbours’ and then returned her bin.
34. Having identified fault, I must consider whether this has caused Miss X a significant injustice. Miss X has had to find ways to manage the uncollected waste left at her property, including paying to have the waste removed privately. She has also faced difficulties in retrieving her bin when it is not returned. In addition Miss X has experienced frustration and disappointment that despite her complaints and reporting of problems the missed collections continued. And has been put to time and trouble in pursuing this matter.

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Action

35. The Council will apologise to Miss X and pay her £300 to recognise the frustration and difficulties the repeated failure to make regular assisted household waste collections has caused.
36. 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.
37. The Council should take this action within eight weeks of the final decision on this complaint and provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

38. I find fault causing injustice. The Council has agreed actions to remedy injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman