The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council missing Mr X’s waste collection and the way it dealt with his complaint. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation and further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.
The complaint
Mr X complained the Council consistently missed his bin collections and have refused to consider his complaint. He said that constantly reporting missed collections has caused him stress. He also has fruit flies around his food waste and is concerned about waste attracting rats. He wanted the Council to collect his bins consistently and improve their customer service and communication.
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 or continue an investigation if we decide: there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X complained the Council missed several bin collections. He contacted the Council about the missed collections in September 2025. The Council considered Mr X’s comments as a service request, not a formal complaint.
In response to enquiries, the Council said that it had missed three waste collections at Mr X’s property between July and September 2025. Two instances were due to access to the road being blocked by a parked vehicle, one instance was due to a broken-down refuse truck. The Council said it had updated its website to advise residents of the missed collections. In all three instances, the Council said it returned to collect the waste within 5 working days.
The Council also said that it did not collect garden waste from Mr X’s property on one occasion in September 2025 due to it being contaminated with a plastic item. The Council provided Mr X with a photo of the bin contamination and advised the bin would be collected on the next collection day if the plastic item was removed.
We will not investigate this complaint because further investigation would not lead to a different outcome. The Council updated its website to advise residents of the missed collection dates; it also apologised to Mr X for the missed collections. The Council advised Mr X about contamination within his brown bin, and how he could ensure it would be emptied on the next collection round.
It was not unreasonable for the Council to consider Mr X’s comments about his missed bin collections in September 2025 as a service request, rather than a formal complaint. We will not investigate this part of the complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating and further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman