Summary: Mr X complained the Council has repeatedly failed to collect his household waste, and that when the waste is collected, his bins are not returned to his property. The repeated failure to collect Mr X’s household waste and recycling or to return the empty bins to the collection point is fault. This fault has caused Mr X an injustice.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mr X complained the Council has repeatedly failed to collect his household waste, and that when the waste is collected, his bins are not returned to his property, but left scattered with other bins on his street.
2. Mr X complained this is a recurring problem where the service improves for a short period after he complains but then the failings in service begin again.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
4. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. As part of the investigation, I have:
• considered the complaint and the documents provided by Mr X;
• made enquiries of the Council and considered the comments and documents the Council provided;
• discussed the issues with Mr X; and
• and the organisation had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Refuse and recycling collections

6. Councils have a duty under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to arrange for the collection of household waste and recycling from properties in its area. The collections do not have to be weekly and councils can decide the type of bins or boxes people must use.
7. The Council's practice is to make a weekly household waste collection and a fortnightly recycling collection.
8. When a resident reports a missed collection, the Depot will ask the crew to return to complete the round as soon as possible. When the Council has completed the collection, it closes the report.

What happened here

9. Mr X lives in a house that has been converted into four separate flats. The Council has provided the tenants of these flats with communal bins rather than individual bins. These communal waste bins are bigger than the Council’s standard domestic household waste and recycling wheelie bins.
10. Mr X says the Council’s wastes services confirmed years ago that as the bins are big and heavy the crew would collect and return the bins to a storage point at the front of the house. Residents would not be expected to present the bins on the pavement. Mr X says that the service works for a time and then collections are missed. When he complains the service improves for a period but then the problems begin again.
11. According to the Council’s records Mr X reported two missed collections in 2021, two missed collection in 2022 and a further two missed collections in January 2023. The reports are all closed which indicates the Council has since made the missed collections. However, the dates these reports were closed are inconsistent and do not suggest the Council made the collections in a timely manner. The records also suggest the Council also missed other collections.
12. For example Mr X reported a missed collection on 12 February 2021, which the Council closed on 2 March 2021. This suggests the intervening scheduled collections were missed as, had the Council made these collections, it could have closed the report sooner. Similarly Mr X reported a missed collection on 21 September 2022 which the Council closed a month later on 22 October 2022. Again, had the Council made the intervening scheduled collections it could have closed the report sooner.
13. Mr X is concerned that not all of his calls to the Council and reports of missed collections have been recorded. Mr X is unable to communicate with the Council in writing and relies on his reports and complaints being taken over the phone. He feels he is passed between services and the problem is not resolved as the Council has not kept proper records of his calls.
14. Mr X made a formal complaint about the collection service in December 2021. He complained there had been repeated missed or partial collections for a while. Mr X said the collection crew would sometimes only empty one of the household waste bins. If the second bin was not full it would be left until the next collection by which time contents were rotten. He referred to his previous complaint about this issue and asked the Council to ensure they received the scheduled weekly collections.
15. The Council’s response apologised for the poor standard of service. It explained the Council had experienced some localised disruption to refuse collection services over recent weeks due to operational issues. The Council suggested Mr X leave his bins out as it was trying to catch up any dropped roads and was planning some weekend working.
16. Mr X made a further formal complaint in September 2022. He complained the collection crews were regularly missing his bins and that when the bins were emptied the crews did not return them. Mr X is disabled and struggled to retrieve the bins when they are left scattered on the street. Mr X told the Council this was a recurring problem which he had repeatedly complained about. The service would improve for a couple of months following his complaints but then the problems would start again. He asked the Council to investigate and finally resolve the problem.
17. In its response the Council noted Mr X’s property had been converted into flats and that the bins were provided for all occupants of the property. It said the collection and return point for the bins was the kerbside and it was expected the residents would bring the bins to the kerbside before collection. The Council noted Mr X was disabled and suggested he ask the other residents to deal with the bins.
18. As Mr X was not satisfied by the Council’s response and there have been further missed collections. Mr X has asked the Ombudsman to investigate his concerns. He maintains the Council should collect the bins and return them to the storage point as agreed and should not expect the residents to have to move the heavy bins to the kerbside.
19. In response to my enquiries the Council has confirmed the collection crews should return the communal bins to the agreed storage point and that Mr X is not responsible for retrieving the empty bins. It has issued reminders to the crews to ensure this is done.
20. The Council provides an assisted collection service for people who are unable to move their bins and boxes due to a disability or age. It has confirmed this service is not available to tenants of communal properties. The Council expects tenants to bring their refuse bags and recycling and place them inside the bins at the storage point. It suggests tenants with disabilities can ask neighbours, relatives, or friends to assist them in putting the refuse/ recycling into the relevant bins.

Analysis

21. The Council’s records suggest it has only failed to collect Mr X’s household waste and recycling on a few occasions each year. Missed collections at this level, whilst inconvenient would not amount to fault. However Mr X asserts there have been many more missed collections and is concerned the Council has not recorded all of his calls.
22. While I am unable to confirm the exact number of missed collections, I consider it likely the Council missed more collections than its records suggest. There are inconsistencies in the Council’s records, and I note Mr X’s complaints refer to repeated and consecutive missed collections since February 2021. I do not therefore consider the Council’s records to be a reliable indicator of the extent of the problem.
23. Although the Council has confirmed the collection crews should return the empty bins to the agreed storage point, it has not expressly confirmed where it considers the storage point to be or that the crews should collect the bins from this point. But nor has it disputed Mr X’s assertion that the Council has previously agreed to collect the bins from and return them to a storge point at the front of his property.
24. I consider it more likely than not that the agreed storage point is at the front of Mr X’s property, and that the collection crews were aware of this arrangement. Although the Council has missed a number of collections, the majority of collections were completed with the crews collecting the bins from the front of Mr X’s property and returned them to this point empty.
25. It is therefore disappointing that the Council’s response to Mr X’s complaint says the collection and return point for the bins is kerbside. This suggests the Council has not properly considered Mr X’s complaint or circumstances and has instead set out the general expectation that residents present their bins for collection. The Council’s response to Mr X’s previous complaint is also generic in nature and did not address his specific concerns.
26. The repeated failure to collect Mr X’s household waste and recycling or to return the empty bins to the collection point is fault.
27. This fault has caused Mr X frustration and disappointment, both with the missed collections and failure to return the bins, and with the Council’s failure to resolve the problem. Mr X has also been put to unnecessary time and trouble in trying to resolve this matter.

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Agreed action

28. The Council has agreed to apologise to Mr X and pay him £100 in recognition of the frustration and difficulties the repeated failure to collect Mr X’s household waste and recycling or to return the empty bins to the collection point have caused.
29. The Council has also agreed to arrange to monitor Mr X’s household waste and recycling collections for eight weeks to ensure the collections are carried out properly and the bins are collected from and returned to the collection point
30. The Council should carry out this action within one month of the final decision on this complaint and should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

31. The repeated failure to collect Mr X’s household waste and recycling or to return the empty bins to the collection point is fault. This fault has caused Mr X an injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman