Swindon Borough Council (25 022 948)
Category : Environment and regulation > Refuse and recycling
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 25 Jun 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about missed recycling collections because any injustice is not significant enough to warrant an investigation.
The complaint
- Miss X complains the Council has missed several recycling collections. She says she had to put the uncollected recycling into the general waste collection.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Miss X complained the Council missed five recycling bin collections. The Council said it told the collection crew about the issue. It said it would only collect waste from a bin and not from the floor next to a bin for efficiency and safety.
- The Council says that it has only missed one collection in the five months since Miss X complained.
- We will normally only investigate a complaint where the complainant has suffered serious loss, harm, or distress as a direct result of faults or failures. We will not normally investigate a complaint where the alleged loss or injustice is not a serious or significant matter. While I recognise the inconvenience caused to Miss X, I consider any injustice is not significant enough to justify an investigation by the Ombudsman.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because any injustice is not significant enough to justify an investigation by the Ombudsman.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman