Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision not to collect waste and recycling. This is because the claimed injustice is not significant enough to warrant further investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council has failed to provide a reliable recycling service and decided not to collect his waste and recycling. He says this has caused him considerable inconvenience and a lack of confidence in the Council’s waste services.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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 any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mr X says the Council did not collect his waste and recycling on several occasions and did not provide evidence for its decision.
6. Mr X complained to the Council in November 2025. He says the waste was not collected in October 2025 and the Council did not collect his recycling twice in October and November 2025.
7. The Council explained its policy changed in September 2025 and it no longer collects excess waste. It said it collected Mr X’s bin but did not take the extra waste. It also said it did not collect the recycling because it contained items that were not suitable.
8. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. I recognise the Council’s decision not to collect waste, and recycling will have caused some inconvenience and frustration. However, the number of collections affected, and the injustice claimed, are not significant enough injustice to warrant further investigation.
9. Mr X is also unhappy with the way the Council dealt with his complaint. But it is not a good use of public resources to look at the Council’s complaints handling if we are not going to look at the substantive issue complained about. We will not therefore investigate this issue separately.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the claimed injustice is not significant enough to warrant further investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman