Waste Company Fined After Unsafe Skip Stockpiling and Poor Traffic Management

Brief Summary

HSE enforcement at a waste and recycling site identified multiple health and safety failures, including skips stacked three high in places and poor control of how pedestrians and vehicles moved around the yard. The company had previously been subject to enforcement action, yet did not effectively manage these risks.

What Was The Incident?

HSE visited the site in August 2022 and observed vehicles and machinery circulating freely, while pedestrian access was restricted and pedestrians were routed along the same entrance route used by lorries. There was no effective segregation of pedestrians from vehicles, and the traffic plan was not visible to staff or visitors and was out of date due to changes in site layout. Inspectors also found skips stacked unsafely, including deformed skips and stacks up to three high in areas that workers accessed regularly on foot or in vehicles. HSE described the risk of skip collapse as potentially catastrophic.

What Was The Outcome?

The company pleaded guilty to two offences under s33(1)(a) and was fined £167,000 with £16,195 costs ordered. HSE also previously served improvement notices requiring action within a specified timescale following concerns identified during the initial visit and a subsequent follow up.

Key Points To Consider

Ensure pedestrians and vehicles are effectively segregated. Provide designated pedestrian routes and crossing points, and do not allow pedestrians to share the same routes as vehicles and reversing movements where this creates risk.

Keep site traffic controls current and accessible. A visual traffic plan must be visible to staff and visitors and updated when the yard layout or access routes change, including movements to facilities such as toilets.

Control the stability of stored skips and other heavy plant. Avoid unsafe stacking that increases the chance of collapse or falling, including situations where skips are deformed or stacked in areas regularly accessed by workers.

Act on enforcement history and address repeat failures. Where previous prohibition or other enforcement has already highlighted serious duties, treat it as a trigger to re assess risks and implement effective measures rather than relying on existing arrangements.

Manage reversing and vehicle movements with additional precautions. Where large vehicles must reverse, consider and implement further protective measures for workers nearby, rather than assuming general site rules will be sufficient.

HSE Prosecution Link