The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: Mr X complained about the Council’s policy of collecting rubbish from his home in bin bags rather than wheelie bins. We will not investigate this complaint. The Council has now provided Mr X with wheelie bins, and we have decided to discontinue our investigation as further investigation is unlikely to lead to a different outcome.
The complaint
Mr X complains about the Council’s policy of collecting rubbish from his home in bin bags rather than wheelie bins. Mr X says this is unhygienic and he has spent a lot of time chasing the Council in order for it to provide bins instead.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended) We can decide whether to start or discontinue an investigation into a complaint or any part of a complaint that is within our jurisdiction. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered all the information Mr X provided about his complaint. I also considered information received from the Council.
Mr X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.
What I found
What happened Mr X lives in a flat above shop fronts. The front of Mr X’s property opens directly onto the street.
Mr X says when he first moved into his home, his rubbish was collected from bins that were stored to the rear of the property. However, the Council removed these and provided bags that it said it would collect weekly from the street in front of Mr X’s home.
Mr X complained to the Council as he said this meant he had to store rubbish in his home for a week, which is unhygienic.
The Council responded to explain Mr X’s property was never supposed to have a bin. It said its usual policy was to collect rubbish from flats above shops and other properties with no frontage using bags rather than bins.
Mr X asked the Council to reconsider his complaint. Mr X reiterated that his home had previously had bins which were collected from the back of the property and questioned why this had changed. Mr X also repeated that this meant unhygienic rubbish would accrue in his home over the course of the week.
The Council responded to Mr X to explain, having carried out a site visit, it agreed his home could accommodate wheelie bins. The Council said it had instructed its waste collection team to collect waste from wheelie bins as it had done previously, and it would supply these bins to any residents who needed them.
Since this complaint has been brought to our service, the Council has provided wheelie bins to Mr X and his neighbours and started to collect them in line with its usual policy.
Analysis Councils have a duty to collect household waste and recycling free of charge, and councils can decide on the type of bins or receptacles people must use.
Mr X disagrees with the Council’s initial decision to ask that he use bin bags to store his rubbish until collection, but it has since agreed to provide him with wheelie bins. I find this resolves the substantive issue of Mr X’s complaint and further investigation is unlikely to result in a different outcome. I say this because even if I find the Council applied its policy incorrectly to Mr X’s rubbish collections, there is no longer going to be an injustice to remedy.
Final decision
I find this complaint is not one we should investigate. This is because the Council has now provided Mr X with the remedy he was seeking, and further investigation is unlikely to result in a different outcome.
Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman