Source · SPSO (Scottish Public Services Ombudsman)

The City of Edinburgh Council

SPSO (Scottish Public Services Ombudsman) Upheld Reference 201603264 Sector Local Government Category refuse collection & bins Decided 01 April 2017

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Full decision

Summary

Miss C complained on behalf of her local residents' organisation. Her complaint concerned various issues relating to the council's waste services, including the bin crew failing to empty bins on designated days, not cleaning or picking up overspill in bin stores, not reporting tipped items to relevant services, long delays in response times for faulty bin repairs, and the bin crew not returning bins to stores after emptying them.

The council acknowledged that there had been failings in their refuse collection services, and provided evidence to show that they were taking steps to improve matters. They have also appointed a Locality Waste and Cleansing Officer.

There had also been unreasonable delays in the council responding to requests for bin repair or replacement, and unreasonable delays in responding to Miss C's complaints. We therefore upheld Miss C's complaint.

Recommendations

We recommended that the council: report back to us, confirming the progress that has been made in respect of the measures set out by the Locality Waste and Cleansing Officer; and apologise to Miss C for the delays in responding to her requests for bin repair or replacement.

Related reading

View Decision Report 201603264 as a PDF (12.52 KB) Updated: March 13, 2018

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