Waste Company Fined After Dangerous Skip Stockpiling and Poor Site Segregation

Brief Summary

HSE identified multiple serious health and safety failures at a waste and recycling site, including unsafe skip stacking and inadequate pedestrian and vehicle segregation. The enforcement outcome highlights the need for safe layout, reliable traffic management and appropriate controls where vehicles and reversing movements are present.

What Was The Incident?

During an HSE visit in August 2022, inspectors observed vehicles such as tipper lorries and loading shovels moving freely around the site, with no effective segregation between pedestrians and vehicles. The pedestrian entrance was chained and padlocked, forcing pedestrians to use the same route as lorries and other vehicles. A visual traffic plan was present but was not visible to staff or visitors and was out of date due to changes to site configuration, including routes used to access toilets. Inspectors also found skips unsafely stacked, including skips piled three high in places. Some skips were deformed, increasing instability. The stack height increased the likelihood of collapse or falling. Skips were stored in an area regularly accessed by workers on foot or in vehicles, creating a significant risk of skips falling onto people.

What Was The Outcome?

The company pleaded guilty to two offences relating to exposing people on site to the risk of death or serious personal injury. It was fined £167,000 and ordered to pay £16,195 in costs. The HSE investigation also noted the company had previously been subject to enforcement action, including prohibition notices in 2019 for stockpiling and risks of collapse.

Key Points To Consider

Ensure pedestrians and vehicles are effectively separated. Do not rely on chained entrances or shared access routes; use designated pedestrian routes and crossing points so people are not forced to travel along lorry movements.

Keep traffic management controls current and visible. A traffic plan is not enough if it is not visible to those on site and does not reflect the current layout and how people move, including access to welfare facilities.

Control the risks from stacking heavy equipment. Where large skips are stored, manage stacking arrangements to prevent instability and take account of factors that make collapse more likely, such as deformation and excessive height.

Remove or reduce exposure by choosing safe storage locations. Avoid placing stored skips in areas regularly accessed by workers on foot or by vehicles, so that the consequences of any fall do not affect people.

Learn from previous enforcement and act decisively. If enforcement action has already identified similar failings, treat it as a clear warning to review arrangements, implement improvements within required timescales, and verify they work in practice.

HSE Prosecution Link