Summary: Mr X complained the Council repeatedly failed to collect his garden waste in 2023, and failed to respond to his escalated complaint. The Council was not at fault over missed garden waste collections. However, the Council was at fault for failing to properly consider Mr X’s complaint. This caused Mr X some frustration and inconvenience which the Council agreed to apologise for.

The complaint

1. Mr X said the Council repeatedly failed to collect his garden waste in 2023, and failed to respond to his escalated (stage two) complaint.
2. Mr X wanted a refund of the £39 fee he paid for the garden waste collection service. He accused the Council of breaching their contract when it failed to collect his garden waste.

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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 significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future 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 considered the complaint and the information Mr X provided.
6. I made written enquiries of the Council and considered its response along with relevant law and guidance.
7. Mr 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

Household waste and recycling collections

8. Councils have a duty under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to collect household waste and recycling from properties in their area. The collections do not have to be weekly, and councils can decide the type of bins or boxes people must use.
9. Councils are not required by law to collect garden waste, and so they may charge a collection fee for doing so. It is for each council to decide what the fee should be.

The Council’s garden waste collection service

10. The Council offers an annual garden waste collection service where it will empty subscribers bins every two weeks. The annual fee for 2023 was £39.
11. The Council publishes terms and conditions for its garden waste collection service on its website. Collections take place between March and December only, and for missed collections the Council states:
12. “We’ll make every effort to collect bins throughout the subscription period. Circumstances beyond our control may prevent us from collecting your bins, such as severe weather or blocked access.”
13. “We will not give a refund for missing a collection or being unable to collect a bin.”
14. “If we’ve failed to collect your green bin, we’ll put it right as soon as possible.”

What happened

15. I have summarised below some key events leading to Mr X’s complaint. This is not intended to be a detailed account of what took place.
16. Bin collection crews held industrial strike action at the end of 2023.
17. In September 2023, the Council shared details on its website about planned strikes in October. It said it anticipated minor disruptions, and was prioritising household waste and recycling.
18. The Council gave an update on 3 October 2023, advising residents it could not empty any bins until after 16 October due to the scale of disruption.
19. The Council issued press releases throughout October with updates, including about more strikes between 24 October and 6 November. It said it was making daily assessments about household waste collections, and suspended recycling and garden waste collections. It also said local recycling centres had extended opening hours during the strikes if people wanted to dispose of waste themselves.
20. The Council made more press releases in November, confirming another round of strikes from 8 to 20 November. It said bins crews would focus on household waste and recycling at the next collections.
21. The Council confirmed on its website that the dispute was resolved in December 2023, and bin crews called off further strikes. It said it would make two garden waste collections starting on 8 January 2024.
22. Mr X complained to the Council on 4 December about the missed garden waste collections. He asked for a refund. The Council sent a standard response about the challenges it faced, and enclosed its terms and conditions. It said it could not respond to any further correspondence about industrial action and would provide updates on its website.
23. Mr X complained again on 5 December, which the Council closed as a duplicate complaint.

My investigation

24. Mr X complained to the Ombudsman that the Council missed 5 of the scheduled 20 garden waste collections in 2023. He said this is a breach of contract and the Council should refund him, but when he complained to the Council it only gave a standard reply and did not address his complaint.
25. Mr X confirmed to me that he saw information about the Council being unable to complete garden waste collections during the strikes. However, he said the Council did not contact him personally with updates or details about how it would complete the contract. He said the Council’s decision to add two extra collections came after he had already disposed of his garden waste at his own time and expense at a local recycling centre.
26. The Council told me it posted numerous updates on its website during the industrial action, and shared press releases with local and national outlets. It also shared updates on its social media.
27. The Council said strikes ran from October to December 2023, and during this time its waste collection service only operated for three days in-between two strikes. It prioritised household waste and recycling, given the health risks, and communicated this to residents.
28. The Council said it contacted all garden waste subscribers by email on 20 December once the strikes ended, telling them it would carry out two further collections in January 2024.

Analysis

29. I found the Council demonstrated it took the actions we would expect in terms of updating residents about the strikes and prioritising its limited resources in this time. I also found the Council contacted garden waste subscribers once the strikes ended to collect any remaining garden waste.
30. I appreciate it was frustrating for Mr X, and other subscribers, when the Council missed garden waste collections during the strikes. However, events were outside the Council’s control. There was no fault in its decision to prioritise household waste and recycling over garden waste collections. The Council has a statutory duty to collect household waste and recycling, whereas it does not for garden waste.
31. The Council’s garden waste collection terms and conditions for the relevant period clearly state that it will not issue a refund for missing a collection. Instead, it will try to put things right as soon as possible. The Council did this by arranging two extra garden waste collections after the strikes ended. I therefore found the Council acted in line with its terms and conditions.
32. Mr X argues the Council is in breach of contract. That is not something the Ombudsman can decide. Only the Courts can make a finding on breach of contract.
33. While some, including Mr X, will no doubt have disposed of garden waste at their own time and expense, the situation did not arise from any fault by the Council.
34. When Mr X complained to the Council, it sent a standard response and referred Mr X to its terms and conditions. I can understand why the Council sent a standard response, as it no doubt received many complaints about missed collections in this time. And its terms and conditions, which it sent with its response, do confirm it will not issue a refund for a missed collection. However, Mr X was complaining about several missed collections, and about breach of contract. He was asking for a full refund, rather than just a refund for a single missed collection. By sending only a standard response I do not consider the Council engaged with the points Mr X raised, and did not properly address his complaint.
35. I therefore found there was some minor fault in the Council’s complaint handling, which will have caused Mr X a degree of frustration and inconvenience.

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Agreed action

36. Within four weeks of my final decision, the Council should apologise to Mr X for not properly considering his complaint, and for not responding to his request for a full refund of the garden waste collection fee.
37. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

38. I completed my investigation. The Council was not at fault over missed garden waste collections. However, it was at fault for failing to properly consider Mr X’s complaint. This caused Mr X some frustration and inconvenience which the Council should apologise for.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman