Waste Company Fined for Dangerous Skip Stockpiling and Weak Site Traffic Control

Brief Summary

The Health and Safety Executive found multiple failures at a waste and recycling site, including skips stacked up to three high, deformed skips, and inadequate separation between vehicles and pedestrians. Enforcement action followed, including improvement notices, and the employer pleaded guilty to two offences. The case highlights the need for effective site traffic management and robust arrangements to prevent dangerous storage and collapse risks, especially where enforcement history already exists.

What Was The Incident?

On an inspection in August 2022, inspectors observed that vehicles and other equipment were driven around the site without effective separation from pedestrians. The pedestrian entrance was chained and padlocked, and pedestrians were forced to use the route used by lorries and other vehicles. There were no effective designated pedestrian routes or crossing points. Although a visual traffic plan existed, it was not visible to staff or visitors and was out of date because the site layout had changed. Inspectors also found skips stacked unsafely, including some that were deformed, with piles three high in places. The stack height and instability increased the likelihood of collapse or a skip falling. Skips were stored in an area that workers regularly accessed on foot or in vehicles, increasing the risk of people being struck by falling skips.

What Was The Outcome?

The employer was ordered to pay a fine of 167,000 and 16,195 towards costs. The prosecution related to failure to fulfil legal duties to protect persons on site from risk of death and serious personal injury. Two offences under section 33 1 a of the relevant Act were pleaded guilty. The regulator also served improvement notices after a follow up visit 11 days later, requiring action within specified timescales. The investigation found the company had previously been subject to enforcement action, including prohibition notices in 2019 concerning stockpiling and risks of collapse.

Key Points To Consider

Ensure pedestrians and vehicles are effectively segregated. Provide clear designated pedestrian routes and crossing points so people do not have to use vehicle routes, and implement segregation arrangements that work on site in practice.

Keep traffic management controls current and visible. If you use a traffic plan, make sure it is visible to staff and visitors and updated when the site layout changes, including the pedestrian movements that staff need for access such as toilet routes.

Control skip storage to prevent collapse and falling loads. Treat stack height, skip condition and instability as key risks. If skips are deformed or stacked too high, the likelihood of collapse or falling increases and arrangements must prevent access to danger areas.

Remove storage risks from routes workers regularly use. Do not place dangerous stockpiles in locations that people regularly pass by on foot or in vehicles. Manage layout and segregation so workers are not exposed to falling objects.

Use enforcement history as a prompt to strengthen compliance. Where previous prohibition or other enforcement has already highlighted failings, treat it as a clear warning that repeat issues may lead to prosecution and significant penalties.

HSE Prosecution Link