Waste Company Fined for Unsafe Skip Stacking and Poor Traffic Management

Brief Summary

HSE found multiple health and safety failures at a waste and recycling site, including skips stacked three high in areas workers regularly accessed and poor segregation between vehicles and pedestrians. The company also had a traffic management plan that was not visible and was out of date. After further investigation following improvement notices, the company pleaded guilty to offences and was fined.

What Was The Incident?

During an HSE visit in August 2022, inspectors saw vehicles and loading equipment being driven around the site without effective separation from pedestrians. The pedestrian entrance was chained and padlocked, forcing people to use the same route as lorries and other vehicles. No designated pedestrian routes or crossing points were in place to manage safe movement. Inspectors also found skips stacked unsafely. Some skips were deformed, increasing instability. In places the stacks were three high, which increased the likelihood of collapse and falling. The skips were located in an area regularly accessed by workers, whether on foot or by vehicle, creating a significant risk from falling skips.

What Was The Outcome?

Following a further visit after improvement notices were served, HSE found the company had previously been subject to enforcement action, including prohibition notices in 2019 relating to stockpiling and the risk of collapse. The company pleaded guilty to two offences under section 33 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, relating to duties under sections 2 and 3. The company was fined £167,000 and ordered to pay £16,195 in costs at a hearing in May 2026.

Key Points To Consider

Separate pedestrians and vehicles in practice. Have clear, effective arrangements for pedestrian routes and crossing points so pedestrians do not have to use vehicle routes, especially where large vehicles operate and reversing is involved.

Keep traffic plans visible and current. A traffic management plan must be accessible to staff and visitors and updated when site layouts and pedestrian movements change, so it reflects the way people actually use the site.

Control skip stacking to prevent collapse and falling. Stacks must be stable and safe, taking into account skip size and weight, and damaged or deformed skips should be treated as a sign the stacking arrangement is not safe.

Do not place unstable materials where people regularly access. Avoid storing or stacking skips in areas that workers routinely use on foot or by vehicle, as this increases the risk of being struck by falling items.

Act promptly on enforcement and prior warnings. Where improvement notices or earlier prohibition actions have been issued, treat the issues as already identified legal failings and ensure corrective action is completed within the required timescales and addresses the root causes.

HSE Prosecution Link