Waste Company Fined After Unsafe Skip Stockpiling and Poor Site Traffic Management

Brief Summary

The Health and Safety Executive fined a waste and recycling company after it found multiple health and safety failures at a site, including skips being stockpiled three high in places and unsafe arrangements for moving pedestrians and vehicles. The regulator also noted earlier enforcement action relating to stockpiling risks, making the repeated shortcomings particularly serious.

What Was The Incident?

During an HSE visit on 11 August 2022, inspectors observed vehicles and loading equipment being driven around the site with no effective segregation for pedestrians. The pedestrian entrance was padlocked and pedestrians were forced to use a route intended for lorries and other vehicles, with no designated pedestrian routes or crossing points. Although the company had a traffic plan, it was not visible to staff or visitors and was out of date because the site had changed, leaving key pedestrian movements, including access across the yard to toilets, unaddressed. Inspectors also found skips unsafely stacked, including some that were deformed, which added to instability. In places the skips were stacked three high, increasing the likelihood of collapse or falls. The skips were located in an area regularly accessed by workers on foot and in vehicles, placing them at risk if a skip fell.

What Was The Outcome?

The company pleaded guilty to two offences under section 33(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act. It was fined £167,000 and ordered to pay £16,195 in costs. HSE enforcement also included earlier prohibition notices in 2019 related to stockpiling and collapse risks, and further improvement notices were served requiring action within specified timescales.

Key Points To Consider

Ensure pedestrians and vehicles are effectively separated. Have clear designated pedestrian routes and crossing points so people do not have to use vehicle routes, especially where heavy plant and lorries operate.

Keep traffic management plans current and usable. A traffic plan is not enough if it is not visible, staff cannot follow it, or it does not reflect changes in site layout and pedestrian movement.

Control skip storage to prevent collapse and falling objects. Do not stockpile skips in ways that increase instability, particularly where skips are deformed or stacked high enough to make collapse more likely.

Avoid placing stored loads where people regularly pass. Keep skip storage away from areas that workers access frequently on foot or by vehicle, so the consequences of any fall are reduced.

Treat previous enforcement as a warning to improve systems. Where enforcement action has already highlighted legal duties on stockpiling and collapse risk, subsequent failures can lead to significantly increased scrutiny and enforcement action.

HSE Prosecution Link