Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint the Council wrongly decided her property was suitable for a new wheeled bin collection. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained about the Council’s decision to change their waste collection from sacks to wheeled bins and its review of that decision.
2. Miss X said her property is not suitable for wheeled bin collection due to individual circumstances which the Council did not properly consider.
3. Miss X said the Council’s decision caused her distress and frustration. Miss X wants the Council to review its decision

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. 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 there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B)) 

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by Miss X.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. 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 types of bins or boxes people must use.
8. In 2024 the Council approved changes to its waste collection service. It previously collected sacks but decided to replace this service with three wheeled bins per property. As part of the changes the Council said it would assess the suitability of every property in its area for a wheeled bin collection.
9. The Council offered all households a right of review against its decision as an alternative to its complaints process. 
10. The Council decided Miss X’s property was suitable for wheeled bins. Miss X asked for a review, but the Council maintained its decision.
11. We will not investigate this complaint. The Council was entitled to change how it collected waste including the containers it provides to do so. Based on the evidence seen there is insufficient evidence of fault in how the Council implemented the changes to its waste collections, and so we will not investigate.
12. We will also not investigate Miss X’s complaint that the Council’s review decision was wrong. The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. This means we will not replace our decision with one that has been correctly made. The Council followed its processes when it carried out Miss X’s review. It considered the information she provided against its criteria for determining whether a property was suitable for a wheeled bin collection. There is insufficient evidence of fault in how it made its decision. Therefore, we will not investigate this complaint.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman