Waste Company Fined for Unsafe Skip Stockpiling and Weak Traffic Management

Brief Summary

HSE found multiple health and safety management failures at a waste and recycling site, including skips piled three high, ineffective pedestrian access, vehicles and workers sharing routes, and a traffic plan that was not visible or current. The employer was prosecuted after improvement notices and a further HSE investigation identified prior enforcement relating to stockpiling and collapse risks.

What Was The Incident?

On an HSE visit in August 2022, inspectors observed vehicles such as tipper lorries and loading shovels being driven around the site, with pedestrians forced to use the same entrance route as lorries and other vehicles. There was no effective segregation through designated pedestrian routes or crossing points. Although a visual traffic plan existed, it was not available to staff or visitors and was out of date because the site layout had changed, so it did not cover key pedestrian movements such as access across the yard to toilets. Inspectors also found skips stacked unsafely, with some deformed and a three high stack in places, increasing the risk of collapse or falling. Skips were stored in an area regularly accessed by workers either on foot or in vehicles. Improvement notices were served requiring action within a set timescale, and a further HSE visit took place about 11 days later.

What Was The Outcome?

The employer pleaded guilty to two offences under section 33(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work Act. It was fined £167,000 and ordered to pay £16,195 in costs. HSE noted the employer had previously been the subject of prohibition notices in 2019 relating to stockpiling and risks of collapse.

Key Points To Consider

Separate pedestrians and vehicles effectively. Ensure pedestrian routes and crossing points are clearly defined and used, rather than forcing pedestrians onto vehicle access routes, especially in yards with moving vehicles and large plant.

Keep traffic management plans current and visible. A traffic plan must be accessible to staff and visitors and reflect the current site layout, including pedestrian movements such as routes to welfare facilities.

Control collapse risks from stored waste skips. Assess the stability of skip stacks, including deformation and stacking height, and act to prevent collapse or falling where workers are regularly in the vicinity.

Address prior enforcement as a prompt to improve. Where there has been earlier enforcement relating to stockpiling and collapse hazards, treat it as evidence of known legal duties and close out risks rather than allowing unsafe arrangements to persist.

Organise the workplace to reduce severe harm. Large and heavy loads can lead to potentially catastrophic consequences if they fail, so planning and precautions should be proportionate to the severity of outcome, not just the likelihood.

HSE Prosecution Link