Waste Company Fined After Dangerous Skip Stockpiling and Poor Traffic Management

Brief Summary

HSE found multiple health and safety failures at a waste and recycling site, including vehicle and pedestrian arrangements with no effective segregation and skips stacked three high in places, creating a risk of collapse in areas workers regularly accessed. The employer had previously faced enforcement action for similar risks, yet pleaded guilty to offences and was fined.

What Was The Incident?

During an HSE inspection in August 2022, inspectors observed tipper lorries and loading shovels moving freely around the site, with pedestrians forced to use a vehicle route because the pedestrian entrance was chained and padlocked. There was no effective system of designated pedestrian routes or crossing points, and the traffic plan was not visible to staff or visitors and was out of date after site layout changes, including missing key pedestrian movements to toilets. Inspectors also found skips stacked unsafely, with some deformed skips making the stack less stable. In places the skips were three high, increasing the likelihood of collapse or a skip falling. The skips were stored in an area regularly accessed by workers on foot or in vehicles, putting people at risk of being struck by a falling skip.

What Was The Outcome?

After improvement notices were served and a further visit took place, the employer was prosecuted. The company pleaded guilty to two offences under section 33 1 a of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. It was fined £167,000 and ordered to pay £16,195 in costs.

Key Points To Consider

Segregate pedestrians and vehicles effectively. Ensure pedestrians have safe routes and crossing points, rather than being forced onto vehicle routes, and implement clear separation arrangements across the whole site.

Keep traffic plans visible and up to date. A visual traffic plan must be accessible to staff and visitors and revised when the site layout changes, so it still covers real pedestrian movements and vehicle circulation.

Control reversing and vehicle movements near people. Where large vehicles reverse and operate near workers, assess the risks and put additional precautions in place to protect people in nearby areas.

Stack skips safely to prevent collapse. Do not allow skips to be stockpiled in ways that create instability such as excessive height or deformed skips, and ensure stacking arrangements reduce the risk of collapse or falling loads.

Act on prior enforcement and improvement notices. If enforcement action and notices have previously highlighted similar hazards, treat the legal duties as clear and prioritise corrective actions within required timescales to prevent repeats.

HSE Prosecution Link