The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council not taking sufficient action regarding a resident who does not present their rubbish correctly. This is because there is insufficient evidence of injustice.
The complaint
The complainant, whom I refer to as Mrs X, complains about the Council’s response after she reported that a resident does not present their bins correctly. Mrs X wants the Council to reinforce the rules with staff and fine people who do not follow the rules.
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: any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council. This includes the complaint correspondence and an update from the Council. I also considered our Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council’s waste policy says people should not over-fill bins or present the bins with the lids open. The policy says the crews will not collect side waste or bins that are not presented correctly. The Council may undertake educational activities, or take enforcement action, if people breach the policy.
Mrs X told the Council that a resident was not presenting their waste in accordance with the policy. She also said the crews were collecting the waste.
The Council said it had reminded the crews about the policy and has now asked a senior officer to reinforce the message. It confirmed the policy should be applied consistently and told me that enforcement officers will monitor the area. It said officers will try to educate people who breach the policy and enforcement action may be taken.
I appreciate Mrs X may feel frustrated when she sees people not following the rules. Mrs X explained it was particularly annoying when she had excess waste which she correctly disposed of. But, while I appreciate Mrs X’s strength of feeling, this does not represent an injustice requiring an investigation. There is nothing to suggest Mrs X’s waste is not being collected and the Council is taking action to promote and enforce the policy. I acknowledge Mrs X would like the Council to do more but the impact on Mrs X is not one that requires an investigation.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of injustice.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman