Waste Company Fined After Unsafe Skip Stockpiling and Poor Vehicle Pedestrian Segregation

Brief Summary

HSE found multiple health and safety failures at a waste and recycling site, including skips stacked three high in places and poorly managed vehicle movements that forced pedestrians to use vehicle routes. The employer was previously subject to enforcement action about similar risks. It pleaded guilty and was fined with costs ordered.

What Was The Incident?

On an HSE inspection visit in August 2022, inspectors observed vehicles and loading equipment being driven around the site, including tipper lorries and loading shovels. The pedestrian entrance was chained and padlocked, so people on foot had to use the same route as lorries and other vehicles. There was no effective segregation through designated pedestrian routes or crossing points, despite the presence of reversing large vehicles. The employer had a visual traffic plan, but it was not visible to staff or visitors and was out of date because the site layout had changed since it was produced. Inspectors also found skips stored unsafely, with some deformed and stacked three high in places. The height and condition of the stack increased the likelihood of collapse or falling. Skips were located in an area regularly accessed by workers on foot or in vehicles, creating a risk of skips falling onto people.

What Was The Outcome?

The employer pleaded guilty to two offences under s33(1)(a). It was fined £167,000 and ordered to pay £16,195 in costs. HSE had served improvement notices following the initial concerns, requiring action within a specified timescale. HSE also noted that the employer had previously been subject to enforcement action, including prohibition notices in 2019 related to stockpiling and risks of collapse.

Key Points To Consider

Prevent vehicle and pedestrian mixing on site. Make sure pedestrians have safe designated routes and crossing arrangements, and do not route foot traffic into the path of lorries and other vehicles.

Ensure traffic management plans are current and used. A traffic plan must be visible to staff and visitors and updated when the site layout changes, including key pedestrian movements such as routes to welfare facilities.

Control risks from reversing large vehicles. Where large vehicles reverse, plan and implement additional precautions to protect people working nearby, based on the actual site arrangements.

Stockpile skips safely and avoid conditions that increase collapse risk. Do not stack skips in a way that makes collapse or falling more likely, including limiting height and taking account of any deformation that affects stability.

Act quickly on enforcement action and previous warnings. If improvement notices and earlier prohibition notices have already highlighted legal duties, address the root causes promptly and verify that controls are effective in practice.

HSE Prosecution Link