Waste Company Fined for Unsafe Skip Stacking and Poor Traffic Segregation

Brief Summary

HSE found multiple health and safety failures at a waste and recycling site including skips piled three high, weak pedestrian controls and ineffective vehicle management. The employer was prosecuted after improvement notices and a later investigation showed enforcement history relating to stockpiling and collapse risks.

What Was The Incident?

During an HSE visit, inspectors saw vehicles and plant being driven around the yard with no effective segregation between pedestrians and vehicles. The pedestrian entrance was chained and padlocked, forcing pedestrians to use the vehicle entrance route. Although the site had a visual traffic plan, it was not visible to staff or visitors and was out of date because site layout changes meant it did not cover key pedestrian movements. Inspectors also found skips stacked unsafely, including some that were deformed, with stacks up to three high in places. The stacking increased the risk of collapse or falling and was located in an area regularly accessed by workers on foot and by vehicles.

What Was The Outcome?

The employer 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

Provide effective pedestrian and vehicle segregation. Ensure pedestrian routes and crossing points are clearly defined and maintained so people on foot are not channelled onto vehicle routes.

Keep traffic arrangements visible and current. A traffic plan must be accessible to staff and visitors and updated when the site layout or movement patterns change.

Control risks from unstable or over height stockpiles. Do not allow stacking arrangements that increase the likelihood of collapse, including locations where people are regularly present or where falling items would present serious harm.

Act on previous enforcement learning. Where enforcement action has already highlighted legal duties, treat this as evidence that existing controls are not working and strengthen them promptly.

Review site circulation arrangements for reversing and vehicle movement. Where reversing and vehicle movement occur around workers, employers must consider additional precautions and implement them so nearby people are protected.

Editor’s Note:

This case is a clear reminder that enforcement does not depend on someone being injured first. Unsafe skip stacking, poor pedestrian segregation and outdated traffic arrangements created serious and foreseeable risks, and that was enough to lead to prosecution. When previous enforcement has already flagged the issues, failure to act becomes even harder to defend. 

HSE Prosecution Link