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

The complaint

1. X complains about the Council’s decision to change how it collects household waste from a sack collection to three wheelie bins. X said their house is not suitable for the new bins as they have limited space and live in a conservation area.
2. X said the matter caused distress and frustration.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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))

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

Back to top

My assessment

6. 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.
7. The Council offered all households a right of review against its decision as an alternative to its complaints process.
8. The Council decided X’s property was suitable for wheeled bins. X asked for a review and explained their house was unsuitable, but the Council maintained its decision. It informed X if they required assisted collection because of the logistics of their property and where the bins are stored, they could request that service.
9. 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.
10. We will also not investigate 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 X’s review. It considered the information they provided against its criteria for determining whether a property was suitable for a wheeled bin collection. There was insufficient evidence of fault in how it made its decision. Therefore, we will not investigate this complaint.

Back to top

Final decision

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

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman