Summary: Mrs X complained that although she should receive assisted collections, the Council has repeatedly failed to collect her recycling. The failings in the assisted collection service the Council provided to Mrs X are fault. This fault has caused Mrs X an injustice.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mrs X complained the Council has repeatedly failed to collect her recycling. Mrs X receives an assisted collection service and says that although her household waste is collected without issue, her recycling has not been collected for many months.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. 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

4. As part of the investigation, I have:
• considered the complaint and the documents provided by Mrs X;
• made enquiries of the Council and considered the comments and documents the Council provided;
• discussed the issues with Mrs X;
• Mrs X and the Council 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

5. 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.
6. The Council's practice is to make a weekly household waste collection and a fortnightly recycling collection.
7. The Council provides an assisted collection service for people who are unable to move their bins and boxes due to a disability or age. The Council should collect the bins from the storage point and return them to the same point.
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. Mrs X complains that although her household waste is collected without issue, there have been problems with her recycling collections for almost a year. Mrs X says she initially reported the missed collections but as this did not resolve the problem she stopped reporting them
10. The Council’s records show Mrs X reported three missed recycling collections in 2022, these were in January, May, and October. The reports are all closed which indicates the Council has since made the missed collections.
11. Mrs X also made a formal complaint in late March 2022. She complained her recycling was still not being collected and said if the collections continued to be missed she would stop recycling. Mrs X also referred to an earlier complaint which had led to improvements but then the problems had started again.
12. The Council’s response apologised for the lack of service and explained it was experiencing widespread staff shortages throughout waste services. Most collections were being made as scheduled, but some collection rounds has been impacted. The Council asked Mrs X to report any missed collections via its website or by telephone.
13. As the missed recycling collections continued, in October 2022 Mrs X asked for her complaint to be reviewed. She also contacted her local councillor for assistance. The councillor contacted the Council on Mrs X’s behalf to complain that Mrs X’s recycling had not been collected for weeks and that both her household waste and recycling had been missed that week. The councillor explained Mrs X felt discriminated against as her recycling was not collected when her neighbours was, even though she should receive assisted collections.
14. The Council again apologised for the issues in the recycling service and confirmed it had escalated the matter to the depot manager. The Council also confirmed it would monitor Mrs X’s collections for the next two months. It explained the recent missed household waste and recycling collection affected the whole of Mrs X’s road as the road was closed for roadworks that day. The Council said crews returned to clear the waste the following day.
15. Mrs X contacted the Council again in December 2022 complaining the issue was ongoing. There is no record the Council responded. Mrs X has asked the Ombudsman to investigate her complaint. She says the recycling collection crew will not walk down her path to collect her bin so she has to ask other people to move her bin for her, which causes her problems.
16. In response to my enquiries the Council says it has a process for recording reports of missed collections, but it is incumbent on residents to report all missed collections on line or by telephone. The Council says it has checked its contact centre database and there is no evidence Mrs X reported any other missed collections which failed to integrate into the missed collection worksheet. The worksheet only shows the three recorded missed collections in January, May, and October 2022. The Council’s records are based on residents reporting missed collections as and when they happen. Without this there is no audit trail.
17. The Council has provided details of it monitoring of Mrs X’s recycling collections between 25 October and 6 December 2022, which it says were 100% successful. It has also provided a photograph of Mrs X’s recycling bin taken in January 2023 which shows her recycling was not presented correctly.
18. The Council states it is difficult to determine the reason for missed collections but notes Mrs X’s recycling was found to be contaminated on at least one occasion. It has notified the depot of the need to tag contaminated recycling.

Analysis

19. It is clear from the Council’s records that there have been failings in the assisted collection service provided to Mrs X. These failings amount to fault.
20. The Council says Mrs X has reported three missed recycling collections, but I consider it likely the Council missed more than that. Mrs X’s complaint refers to ongoing missed collections in March 2022, and her review request was made before the missed collection recorded in October 2022 and refers to weeks of missed collections.
21. I also note the records show the Council monitored Mrs X’s collection on Tuesdays between October and December 2022. Yet Mrs X’s collections are scheduled for Wednesdays. This clearly calls in to question the accuracy of the Council’s records and the efficacy of its monitoring. It is unclear how the Council can be satisfied the collections were all correctly carried out the day before they were due. In addition Mrs X contacted the Council in early December to complain her recycling was still not being collected. This would not have been necessary if all collections had been completed as the monitoring records suggest.
22. I do not therefore consider the Council’s records are a reliable reflection of the extent of the missed collections.
23. The Council identified in January 2023 that Mrs X had presented her recycling incorrectly with plastic waste in the paper and cardboard pod. The Council discussed this with Mrs X, who says she has changed how she presents the recycling but collections are still missed. It is possible that Mrs X had incorrectly presented her recycling prior to January 2023, but if this is the reason for any missed collections Mrs X should have been told. Collection crews should tag any recycling bins that are contaminated and cannot be collected. If they do not, the resident will not know this is the reason their recycling has not been collected or be able to rectify it. The Council has confirmed the depot has been reminded of the need to tag contaminated recycling. This is to be welcomed.

Having identified fault, I must now consider whether this has caused Mrs X an injustice. Mrs X has had to find ways to manage the uncollected recycling left at her property or arrange for someone else to present her recycling bin for collection. She has also experienced frustration and disappointment, both with the missed collections and the Council’s failure to resolve the problem. Mrs X has been put to unnecessary time and trouble in trying to resolve this matter.

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Agreed action

24. The Council has agreed to apologise to Mrs X and pay her £100 in recognition of the frustration and difficulties the repeated failure to make regular assisted recycling collections has caused.
25. The Council has also agreed to arrange further monitoring of Mrs X’s recycling collections for an eight week period to ensure the assisted collections are carried out properly.
26. 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

27. The failings in the assisted collection service the Council provided to Mrs X are fault. This fault has caused Mrs X an injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman