Waste Company Fined After Unsafe Skip Stockpiling and Poor Traffic Segregation

Brief Summary

An employer in the waste and recycling sector received a fine after an HSE inspection found multiple serious failures on site, including skips stacked three high in areas regularly used by workers and a lack of effective segregation between vehicles and pedestrians. The case highlights the need for robust site traffic management, suitable stacking controls, and learning from previous enforcement action.

What Was The Incident?

During an HSE visit in August 2022, inspectors found vehicles, including tipper lorries and loading shovels, being driven around the site with pedestrian movement poorly managed. The pedestrian entrance was chained and padlocked, forcing pedestrians to use the vehicle entrance route. There were no effective designated pedestrian routes or crossing points, and large vehicle reversing was not supported by additional precautions to protect people nearby. Although there was a visual traffic plan, it was not visible to staff or visitors and it was out of date after changes to the site layout, including access across the yard to toilets. Inspectors also found skips stacked unsafely. Some skips were deformed, increasing instability. In places the stack height was three high, raising the likelihood of collapse or falling. The skips were stacked in areas regularly accessed by workers on foot or in vehicles, creating a high risk of falls.

What Was The Outcome?

The employer pleaded guilty to two offences under s33(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act. The company was fined £167,000 and ordered to pay £16,195 in costs. HSE had previously served prohibition notices in 2019 relating to stockpiling and risks of collapse, and improvement notices were also issued after the 2022 inspection requiring corrective action within a specified timescale.

Key Points To Consider

Ensure effective separation of pedestrians and vehicles. Do not rely on general site layout alone. Provide clear pedestrian routes and crossing points, and implement practical controls so people are not forced to use vehicle routes.

Keep traffic management information visible and current. A traffic plan is not enough if staff and visitors cannot see it and if it has not been updated after changes to site configuration or pedestrian movement.

Control skip stacking risks and collapse potential. Treat skip stockpiling as a stability risk, especially where skips are deformed or stacked to greater heights, and ensure arrangements prevent collapses or falling loads.

Assess whether stored items are near normal work routes. Avoid placing stored skips in areas that workers routinely access on foot or in vehicles, because this increases the likelihood of people being exposed if a fall or collapse occurs.

Act on past enforcement and address recurring failures. Where there has been previous enforcement relating to the same type of risk, you must show sustained compliance by closing out the issues rather than repeating unsafe stockpiling and poor traffic arrangements.

HSE Prosecution Link