Bury Metropolitan Borough Council (24 016 941)

Statement Upheld Refuse and recycling 05-Aug-2025

Summary: Mr B complained the Council has repeatedly left his bins blocking access to his driveway after collections, despite assuring him this would be resolved. The Council was at fault. It continued to leave Mr B’s bins blocking his driveway, after agreeing to leave them elsewhere. It also demonstrated poor record-keeping by not evidencing how and when it monitored his collections and carried out site visits. Because of the fault, Mr B could not safely access his driveway on several occasions; he suffered frustration and uncertainty; and it meant he continued to contact the Council to report the issue. The Council will issue a staff briefing and review its collection monitoring procedures.

Westmorland and Furness Council (24 019 792)

Statement Upheld Refuse and recycling 05-Aug-2025

Summary: Ms B complained the Council delayed providing her with domestic waste bins which meant she had to pay for a commercial waste collection while also paying council tax. The Council has agreed to refund the amount Ms B paid for the commercial waste collection. That is a satisfactory remedy and I therefore do not intend to pursue the complaint further.

London Borough of Haringey (25 000 915)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Refuse and recycling 03-Aug-2025

Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about missed waste collections and that the waste collection crew were failing to lock the gates appropriately after collections. This is because an investigation would not lead to any further findings or worthwhile outcomes.

London Borough of Havering (25 003 317)

Statement Upheld Refuse and recycling 31-Jul-2025

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about missed garden waste collections. The Council upheld Mr X’s complaint and apologised, therefore, further investigation will not lead to a different outcome.

Kingston Upon Hull City Council (24 019 335)

Statement Not upheld Refuse and recycling 30-Jul-2025

Summary: Mr X complained about the position the Council places his bin after it is emptied. We decided to end our investigation as further investigation would not lead to a different outcome than the Council already provided and there is insufficient significant personal injustice to warrant further investigation. 

London Borough of Hackney (25 005 232)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Refuse and recycling 30-Jul-2025

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about missed bin collections. This is because the number of missed collections in the 12 months before Mr X complained to us are not significant enough to warrant investigation.

Hertsmere Borough Council (25 005 446)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Refuse and recycling 29-Jul-2025

Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council did not empty his household waste bin on one occasion. This is because Mr X’s claimed injustice is not significant enough to warrant an investigation by the Ombudsman.

Cumberland Council (25 001 772)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Refuse and recycling 28-Jul-2025

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about missed waste collections and poor complaint handling. The Council has implemented measures to ensure the green waste collections are made according to schedule. Further investigation is unlikely to lead to a different outcome. Also, we do not consider that Mrs X suffered a significant personal injustice because of the complaint procedure alone to warrant an investigation on this point.

Birmingham City Council (25 000 943)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Refuse and recycling 23-Jul-2025

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about missed refuse collections between September and December 2024, and since January 2025. The alleged fault has not caused a significant enough injustice, we cannot investigate matters which affect all or most people in the Council’s area, and it is not a good use of our resources to look at the complaints process in isolation.

Derby City Council (25 001 531)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Refuse and recycling 23-Jul-2025

Summary: We will use our discretion not to investigate this complaint about the relocation of a bin store for Housing Association properties. This is because there is no worthwhile outcome that an investigation could achieve.