Waste Company Fined After Unsafe Skip Stockpiling

Brief Summary

HSE found multiple health and safety failures at a waste and recycling site, including skips piled three high and poor segregation between vehicles and pedestrians. The company was prosecuted after improvement notices and previous enforcement activity relating to similar risks.

What Was The Incident?

During an HSE visit in August 2022, inspectors observed vehicles and loading activities operating around the site without effective separation from pedestrians. The pedestrian entrance was chained and padlocked, forcing people to use routes intended for vehicles, and there were no effective designated pedestrian routes or crossing points. A visual traffic plan existed but was not visible to staff or visitors and had become out of date after the site layout changed, including not addressing pedestrian movements such as access to toilets. Inspectors also found skips stacked unsafely, with some deformed and three high in places. The stack height and the unstable arrangement increased the risk of collapse or skips falling, and skips were positioned in areas regularly accessed by workers on foot or in vehicles.

What Was The Outcome?

The company pleaded guilty to two offences and was fined £167,000, with £16,195 ordered in costs. The case followed a further HSE visit 11 days later after improvement notices required action within set timescales to remedy breaches. HSE also noted the company had previously been subject to prohibition notices in 2019 related to stockpiling and risks of collapse.

Key Points To Consider

Provide effective segregation of pedestrians and vehicles. Ensure pedestrians can move safely using designated routes and crossing points rather than sharing circulation routes with lorries and other vehicles.

Keep traffic management controls visible and current. A traffic plan only works if it is visible to staff and visitors and remains accurate when site layout changes, including routes to welfare facilities.

Avoid unsafe storage that increases collapse risk. Do not stockpile heavy skip loads in ways that can become unstable, including situations where stacks are deformed or piled too high in frequently accessed areas.

Treat stockpiling risks seriously where people are near heavy plant and loads. Where vehicles reverse or heavy items are stacked, employers must apply additional precautions to reduce the chance of collapse or falling objects affecting workers and others on site.

Learn from previous enforcement and close gaps quickly. If enforcement action or notices have already identified similar breaches, review and correct the underlying control failures promptly to prevent repeat risks.

HSE Prosecution Link