Waste Company Fined After Unsafe Skip Stockpiling and Poor Site Segregation

Brief Summary

HSE identified multiple health and safety failures at a waste and recycling site, including skips stacked three high and unsafely positioned where workers accessed the area. HSE also found that vehicle and pedestrian movements were not properly segregated, and that a traffic plan was not visible and did not reflect the site layout. The employer pleaded guilty to offences and was fined with costs ordered.

What Was The Incident?

On an inspection in August 2022, HSE observed vehicles and loading equipment moving freely around the site with no effective segregation for pedestrians. The pedestrian entrance was chained and padlocked, forcing people to use the same route as lorries and other vehicles. HSE also found that the employer had a traffic plan, but it was not visible to staff or visitors and was out of date because the site configuration had changed. Inspectors further identified skips that were unsafely stacked, with some skips deformed and a stack height of three high in places, increasing the risk of collapse and falling. The skips were stored in an area regularly accessed by workers on foot or in vehicles, creating a risk to people if they fell.

What Was The Outcome?

The employer pleaded guilty to two offences relating to putting people on site at risk of death or serious personal injury. It was fined £167,000 and ordered to pay £16,195 in costs. HSE had previously served prohibition notices in 2019 about stockpiling and risks of collapse, and improvement actions were required following further visits after notices were served.

Key Points To Consider

Ensure clear segregation of pedestrians and vehicles. If vehicles are moving around a yard, make sure pedestrian routes are designated, safe, and separated, and do not force people to use vehicle routes.

Keep traffic management plans visible and up to date. A traffic plan only helps if workers and visitors can actually see it and it reflects the current site layout and key pedestrian movements.

Control skip storage to prevent collapse and falling. Stacking skips requires stability checks, including taking account of deformation and height, because unsafe stacking can create a high consequence risk to anyone nearby.

Avoid placing stored hazards where people regularly pass. Do not position skip stacks in areas regularly accessed on foot or by vehicles, since this increases the chance of people being struck or injured if anything falls.

Act quickly on enforcement history and improvement notices. Where enforcement action has already been taken, treat subsequent findings as a warning to tighten controls, respond to improvement requirements within timescales, and remove known risks.

HSE Prosecution Link