North Northamptonshire Council (26 011 232)
Category : Environment and regulation > Refuse and recycling
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 23 Jul 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council replacing a damaged bin with a smaller bin. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation.
The complaint
- Mrs B complains it took two months for the Council to replace her damaged bin and her new bin is smaller. Mrs B says the new bin is not sufficient for her household’s needs and she would like the Council to provide a bin which is the same size as her previous bin.
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 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))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mrs B and the Council’s Waste and Recycling Policy, which is available on the Council’s website.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- The Council’s Waste and Recycling Policy says it will issue households with a 180 litre bin for general waste. And, any existing 240 litre bins or other sized bins will be replaced with a 180 litre bin as appropriate when lost or damaged.
- The Council’s decision to provide Mrs B with a standard bin was in line with this policy. So, there is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation into the bin provided by the Council. Mrs B may apply for a larger bin if there are exceptional reasons why her household needs a larger bin.
- An investigation solely into the Council’s delay providing this bin is not justified.
Final decision
- We will not investigate this complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman