The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council changing the way household waste was collected in his street, and how it has monitored the scheme. The Council has not changed the waste collection system as claimed, and has taken action to monitor and manage the way residents have been dealing with their waste. There is not enough evidence of Council fault to warrant investigation, and no different outcome an investigation would achieve.
The complaint
Mr X lives on a road where he says residents could use a large wheeled bin for their household waste. He complains the Council: wrongly decided to replace the large wheeled bin with waste bag collections; failed to consult residents before changing the road’s waste collection system; has refused to revert back to the previous wheeled bin system; has failed to monitor the waste bag system or enforce against residents not following it.
Mr X says the street is of historical importance, and dozens of waste bags are left in the street each day, which is unsightly and a health hazard. He wants the Council to review its decision, reinstate the ‘communal wheeled bin’ system and remove the waste bags from the street.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Ombudsman investigates 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 may decide not to continue with 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.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information from Mr X, and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X’s core complaints are based on the position that the Council has changed the way it collects household waste in his street. But the Council has not changed that system. The Council used and still uses weekly bagged waste collections from the properties, because there are too many households and not enough space to use individual wheeled bins.
The Council removed a large wheeled bin from the end of the street, but this was never for use by residents for household waste. It was for the Council’s street cleaners to use. Some residents used that bin for some of their rubbish, but this was a misuse of the bin because it was never part of the Council’s household waste collection system. The Council received reports of fly-tipping and anti-social behaviour near the large bin, and also of the effect on the wall it was next to, so removed it.
Removal of a street cleaner’s bin which was not for residents’ waste use does not amount to the Council changing the way it conducts waste collections. There is not enough evidence of fault by the Council in regards complaints a) to c) above because it has not changed the waste collection system for Mr X’s street as claimed.
Regarding monitoring of the ongoing waste collection system, the Council says it has contacted residents to advise them of the correct way to present their waste for collection. Officers also made visits to properties to make sure residents had the correct waste and protective bags to use. In response to Mr X’s concerns about bags on the street, the Council says it sent officers to assess the matter and take action against residents where required. Officers have taken appropriate action to assess the ongoing waste scheme. There is not enough evidence of fault by the Council here in how it has sought compliance from residents with the scheme and monitored the situation. The actions the Council has taken is also the kind of outcome we would have sought had we investigated this matter, so there is no different outcome investigation would achieve here.
If Mr X considers other residents are not complying with the bagged waste collections, he should report this to the Council. It would then be for officers to determine what action to take. This may be further education of residents or enforcement, as officers consider appropriate, depending on the facts of each case and the available evidence.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because: there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to warrant investigation; and investigation would not achieve a different outcome.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman