Waste Company Fined After Unsafe Skip Stockpiling and Poor Traffic Separation

Brief Summary

HSE found multiple health and safety failures at a waste and recycling site, including lack of effective segregation between pedestrians and vehicles and unsafe skip stockpiling that created a risk of collapse. The employer was fined and ordered to pay costs, following earlier enforcement action for similar issues.

What Was The Incident?

During HSE inspections, vehicles and loading equipment were seen moving freely around the site and pedestrian access was forced to use the same route as lorries and other vehicles. The pedestrian entrance was secured, and there were no designated pedestrian routes or crossing points to provide effective separation. Although a traffic plan existed, it was not visible to staff or visitors and was out of date because the site layout had changed, including movements needed to access toilets. HSE also found skips stacked unsafely, including some deformed skips, with stacks up to three high in places. The stacked skips were located in an area regularly accessed by workers on foot or in vehicles, increasing the likelihood that workers could be harmed if skips fell or collapsed.

What Was The Outcome?

The employer pleaded guilty to two offences under the Health and Safety at Work Act. It was fined £167,000 and ordered to pay £16,195 in costs. HSE had previously served prohibition notices in 2019 related to stockpiling and risks of collapse, and improvement notices required remedial action within a specified timescale after HSE concerns were identified.

Key Points To Consider

Provide real separation between pedestrians and vehicles. Ensure designated pedestrian routes and crossing points are effective in practice, not just planned on paper, and avoid forcing pedestrians to share vehicle routes.

Keep traffic arrangements visible and current. A traffic plan only helps if people can see and follow it, and if it reflects the current site layout and pedestrian movements such as access to welfare facilities.

Control reversal and vehicle movement around people. Where large vehicles must reverse, assess the need for additional precautions and implement suitable controls to protect anyone working nearby.

Prevent skip collapse by managing stacking risks. Do not allow skips to be stacked in a way that increases instability, including limiting stack height and addressing deformed skips that add to the risk of collapse.

Learn from previous enforcement and act quickly. If the business has already been warned through enforcement action, ensure required improvements are implemented and sustained, especially where hazards like stockpiling and collapse risk are already known.

HSE Prosecution Link