The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint that the Council did not empty her recycling bin on one occasion and did not attach a notification to the bin explaining why in line with its policy. The claimed injustice is not significant enough to warrant an investigation by the Ombudsman.
The complaint
Mrs X complained the Council failed to: empty her recycling waste on one occasion; follow its policy of attaching a tag to a bin to notify the resident of the reason for non-collection (in this case, due to contamination).
Mrs X said the matter caused her frustration and time and trouble to resolve.
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 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 the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mrs X’s recycling bin was not collected on one occasion in late 2025. In its complaint response the Council explained the reason the bin was not collected was because it was contaminated with soft plastic. Mrs X asserted she did not place the contaminated items in the bin, and that it must have been a passer-by. Mrs X also told the Council it did not follow its policy of placing a notification on her bin explaining why it did not collect it.
We will not investigate this complaint. Our role is to consider complaints where the person bringing the complaint has suffered significant personal injustice as a direct result of the actions or inactions of the organisation. This means we will normally only investigate a complaint where the complainant has suffered serious loss, harm, or distress as a direct result of faults or failures. We will not normally investigate a complaint where the alleged loss or injustice is not a serious or significant matter.
In this case, Mrs X’s recycling was not collected on one occasion because it was contaminated, and the Council did not attach a notification to explain why.
The claimed injustice is not significant enough to warrant our involvement, and so we will not investigate this complaint.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because the claimed injustice is not significant enough to warrant our involvement.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman