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Local councils across England are being urged to take a balanced approach to people who fall foul of household waste disposal laws.

Household waste offences take place when someone fails to comply with the local arrangements for the collection of household waste, and in doing so causes a nuisance or has a negative effect on the local area.

This might happen, for example, when someone leaves their bins or bin bags in the wrong place or on the wrong day. This can block access to the highway, attract vermin, cause unpleasant smells, attract other litter, and be unsightly.

In a new guidance document aimed at councils’ environmental services departments, the Ombudsman is urging councils to consider the whole range of powers available to them when tackling waste disposal issues. These powers range from giving advice all the way up to prosecution, depending on the nature and severity of what has happened.

Ms Amerdeep Somal, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said:

“Nobody wants to live in a messy environment strewn with litter, and councils have a difficult job keeping their areas clean and tidy, especially with increasingly limited resources. We recognise the challenges they face, particularly in urban areas, and the important role that enforcement has in helping ensure that local communities aren’t blighted by rubbish.

“We have found fault in some cases across London in recent months, particularly where people have left their rubbish out at the wrong time and councils have taken an overly zealous approach to enforcement. We are issuing this guidance to help other councils understand how we expect them to deal with issues in their area.

“We urge them to take a proportionate, common sense  approach, and expect them to think carefully about the various enforcement powers available to them when deciding which to use in each case.

“We also expect councils to properly consider residents’ concerns if they make a complaint, and have a clear and accessible route to resolving them. Residents should not be left with the choice of simply paying up or facing prosecution.

“Similarly, where councils contract out their enforcement to private companies, we would expect there to be comparable mechanisms in place to ensure contractors act in a professional and proportionate manner, and the correct channels made available if a resident wants to escalate their complaint, including clear information about how to raise complaints with the Ombudsman."

Based on a number of case studies investigated by the Ombudsman, the advice given in the guide includes details of the range of powers available to local authorities when seeking to deal with waste offences, along with the Ombudsman’s approach to complaints.

It also details a number of good practice recommendations for councils to use to interrogate their own services.

Downloads : GPG - Household waste offences - October 2024 (397KB)