Waste Company Fined After Unsafe Skip Stockpiling and Poor Traffic Management

Brief Summary

HSE found multiple health and safety failures at a waste and recycling site, including skips stacked up to three high in areas accessed by workers and inadequate segregation between pedestrians and vehicles. The company was also not able to show that its traffic management controls were current and visible. It previously faced enforcement action over similar issues, making the repeat failures more serious.

What Was The Incident?

During an HSE inspection in August 2022, inspectors observed tipper lorries and loading shovels being driven around the site with no effective pedestrian routes or crossing points. The pedestrian entrance was chained and padlocked, forcing pedestrians to use a route used by lorries and other vehicles. Although a visual traffic plan existed, it was not visible to staff or visitors and was out of date because the site layout had changed, including movements to access toilets. Inspectors also found skips stacked unsafely, with some deformed and stacked up to three high in places, increasing the likelihood of collapse or falling. The skips were located in an area regularly accessed by workers on foot or in vehicles.

What Was The Outcome?

The company pleaded guilty to two offences under section 33 of the Act. It was fined £167,000 and ordered to pay £16,195 costs. HSE also previously served prohibition notices in 2019 relating to skip stockpiling and risks of collapse, and further improvement notices were served requiring corrective action within a set timescale before the investigation concluded.

Key Points To Consider

Ensure pedestrians and vehicles are effectively separated. Do not rely on informal movement patterns or shared routes; provide designated pedestrian routes and crossing points so people do not routinely have to use vehicle routes.

Keep traffic management controls current and visible. If a traffic plan exists, it must be usable on the day, visible to staff and visitors, and updated to reflect changes to site layout and key pedestrian movements.

Control skip stacking to prevent collapse and falling. Take account of the weight and condition of skips, including any deformation, and the effects of stacking height where collapse or falling could occur.

Remove hazardous storage from areas people regularly access. Do not stockpile equipment in locations where workers pass on foot or where vehicles regularly operate, since this increases the risk from any instability.

Treat prior enforcement as a clear warning to improve. Where there has been previous enforcement relating to similar risks, ensure the required controls are implemented and sustained rather than assuming earlier action is enough.

HSE Prosecution Link