The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We have upheld Mr X’s complaint about missed recycling waste collections. The Council has remedied the injustice during its complaint process.
The complaint
Mr X complains about missed recycling waste collections and poor communication.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
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 s34H(1), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X complained about missed recycling collections between October and December. He also complained about poor communication when he tried to resolve the matter with the Council.
The Council apologised. It agreed it had missed collections and said it would monitor collections until new arrangements were in place. It has employed two people to monitor missed collections and arrange collections of missed recycling within three days.
The Council has also updated its website so residents can now report missed collections if the system says the waste has been collected.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the Council remedied the injustice to Mr X during its complaint process.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman