Waste Company Fined After Unsafe Skip Stockpiling and Poor Traffic Segregation

Brief Summary

The HSE found multiple failures at a waste and recycling site, including pedestrians being forced to use vehicle routes and skips being stacked three high in areas workers regularly accessed. The employer was ordered to pay a fine and costs after pleading guilty to offences related to putting people at risk of death or serious injury, following earlier enforcement action.

What Was The Incident?

During an HSE visit on 11 August 2022, inspectors observed tipper lorries and loading shovels moving around the site without effective segregation for pedestrians. The pedestrian entrance was chained and padlocked, so people had to use the same route used by vehicles, and there were no effective designated pedestrian routes or crossing points. The company had a visual traffic plan, but it was not visible to staff or visitors and was out of date because site layouts had changed, including access across the yard to toilets. Inspectors also found skips stacked unsafely, with some deformed and a three high stack in places, increasing the likelihood of collapse or a falling incident. These skips were located in areas regularly accessed by workers on foot or by vehicles, heightening the risk to people if skips fell.

What Was The Outcome?

After further visits and improvement notices requiring action within set timescales, the HSE investigation concluded that the employer had previously been subject to enforcement. Prohibition notices had been served in 2019 relating to stockpiling and risks of collapse. The employer pleaded guilty to two offences under s33(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and was fined £167,000, with £16,195 costs ordered, at a hearing on 5 May 2026.

Key Points To Consider

Separate pedestrians and vehicles effectively. Design and maintain clear pedestrian routes and crossing points so people are not forced to use vehicle routes, including at site entrances and key access areas.

Keep site traffic plans visible and current. A traffic plan must be accessible to staff and visitors and updated when the site layout or vehicle and pedestrian movements change, including routes to welfare facilities.

Control reversing and moving heavy vehicles. Where large vehicles reverse, plan and implement additional precautions to protect people working nearby and ensure the site layout supports safe movement.

Stop unsafe skip stockpiling. Manage the stability of skips and avoid stacking that increases collapse risk, especially where skips are located in areas workers regularly access.

Act quickly on enforcement and repeat issues. If improvement notices or earlier enforcement action has already identified problems such as stockpiling and collapse risks, address the root causes promptly and verify that controls are working on site.

HSE Prosecution Link