Waste Company Fined After Dangerous Skip Stockpiling and Poor Vehicle Pedestrian Separation

Brief Summary

The Health and Safety Executive found multiple health and safety failures at a waste and recycling site, including skips stacked three high in places and inadequate separation between vehicles and pedestrians. The employer had also served improvement notices and had been subject to earlier enforcement relating to stockpiling and risks of collapse. The company pleaded guilty to two offences and was fined by the court.

What Was The Incident?

During an HSE visit in August 2022, inspectors observed vehicles and loading equipment being driven freely around the site, with the pedestrian entrance chained and padlocked. Pedestrians were forced to use the same route used by lorries and other vehicles, and 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 Although a visual traffic plan existed, it was not visible to staff or visitors and was out of date because the site layout had changed, including key pedestrian movements such as access to toilets. Inspectors also found skips unsafely stacked, including some that were deformed. In places the stack was three high, increasing the likelihood of collapse or a skip falling. The skips were located in an area regularly accessed by workers on foot or in vehicles, creating a significant risk to people if a stack failed.

What Was The Outcome?

The employer 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. Improvement notices had been served requiring actions within a specified timescale, and HSE also identified that the company had previously received prohibition notices in 2019 relating to stockpiling and risks of collapse.

Key Points To Consider

Separate pedestrian routes and vehicle movements. Provide clear, effective separation so people walking through the yard are not forced onto vehicle routes, and ensure crossing points and routes are designed for the way traffic actually moves.

Keep traffic control plans visible and current. A traffic plan is not enough on paper. It must be visible to staff and visitors and updated when site configurations change so it reflects key pedestrian movements and access routes.

Control skip storage to prevent collapse. Stockpile management must address stability, including avoiding deformed skips and limiting height where needed to reduce the chance of collapse or falling loads.

Do not place hazardous storage in frequently used areas. Even if skips are stored safely in principle, locate them so that people do not regularly pass beneath or beside stacks on foot or by vehicle.

Act on prior enforcement and improvement notices. If enforcement history shows similar failures, review and strengthen controls promptly, and deliver required actions within the improvement notice timescales to remove ongoing risk.

HSE Prosecution Link