London Borough of Havering (25 030 417)
Category : Environment and regulation > Refuse and recycling
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 21 Sep 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s recycling and waste collection policy. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault to warrant our involvement.
The complaint
- Mrs X complained about the Council’s recycling and waste policy. She said the Council does not provide a location for residents to leave recycling collection sacks. She said recycling builds up in her home, and it is not practical.
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 there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), 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
- The Council operates a sack collection service. Residents must store their waste in sacks and present them at the boundary of their property at collection times.
- The Council explained its collection arrangements to Mrs X and suggested she could buy a container or knee-high bin to store her recycling between collections.
- We will not investigate this complaint. When Mrs X explained this would be difficult due to her property layout and the placement of a storage container it agreed it may need to make an alternative arrangement.
- The Council said Mrs X could request it visit her property to assess the layout and storage options and agree an alternative arrangement if needed. It also said she should report any instances of fly tipping near her home.
- The Council responded appropriately to Mrs X’s concerns and said it could assess her property for a potential alternative collection arrangement. There is not enough evidence of fault to warrant our involvement.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to warrant our involvement.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman