Waste Company Fined After Dangerous Skip Stockpiling and Poor Traffic Management

Brief Summary

HSE found multiple health and safety failures at a waste and recycling site, including poor pedestrian and vehicle separation and skips stockpiled in unsafe stacks in areas used by workers. The employer had previously faced enforcement action about stockpiling and collapse risks. It was prosecuted and fined.

What Was The Incident?

During an HSE inspection on 11 August 2022, inspectors observed vehicles such as tipper lorries and loading shovels being driven around the site. The pedestrian entrance was chained and padlocked, forcing pedestrians to use the same route as lorries and other vehicles. There were no effective designated pedestrian routes or crossing points to segregate people from vehicle movements. Although a visual traffic plan existed, it was not visible to staff or visitors and was out of date because the site layout had changed, so it did not address key pedestrian movements, including access across the yard to toilets. Inspectors also found skips that were stacked unsafely, including skips that were deformed, which increased instability. In places the stack height was three high, further increasing the risk of collapse or items falling. These unsafe stacks were located in an area regularly accessed by workers on foot or in vehicles.

What Was The Outcome?

The employer was ordered to pay a fine of 167,000 and costs of 16,195. It pleaded guilty to two offences under s33(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. HSE also served improvement notices following the initial inspection and conducted a further visit 11 days later to investigate the breaches.

Key Points To Consider

Segregate pedestrians and vehicles effectively. Ensure there are safe, designated pedestrian routes and crossing arrangements so people are not forced to share vehicle routes, particularly where heavy vehicles operate around the site.

Keep traffic plans visible and current. A traffic plan is only useful if it is communicated and clearly visible to staff and visitors, and updated when site layout or movements change so it reflects real pedestrian patterns.

Control reversing and vehicle movements. Where large vehicles must reverse, employers should assess the risks and introduce additional precautions to protect people working nearby.

Avoid unsafe stockpiling and stacking of heavy waste containers. Do not stack skips in ways that create instability, including excessive stacking heights or damaged containers, and do not place them where workers regularly pass on foot or by vehicle.

Act promptly on enforcement history and notices. If improvement notices have been issued or there has been prior enforcement about similar risks, treat corrective actions as urgent and ensure measures genuinely address the specific hazards identified.

HSE Prosecution Link