Waste Company Fined After Unsafe Skip Stockpiling and Poor Traffic Management

Brief Summary

An employer was prosecuted following HSE findings at a waste and recycling site, including skips stacked three high in places, pedestrian routes that were not segregated from vehicle movements, and a traffic plan that was not visible and did not reflect the current site layout. The company also had previous enforcement action related to stockpiling and collapse risks.

What Was The Incident?

HSE inspectors visited the site and observed vehicles and plant being driven around the yard, while pedestrian access was chained and padlocked so that pedestrians had to use the same route as lorries and other vehicles. There was no effective segregation or designated pedestrian routes or crossing points. Although the employer had a visual traffic plan, it was not visible to staff or visitors and was out of date because the site configuration had changed since it was produced, so it did not cover key pedestrian movements such as access across the yard to toilets. Inspectors also found skips stacked unsafely, with some deformed, a three high stack in places, and skips located in an area regularly accessed by workers on foot or in vehicles, increasing the risk of collapse and falling.

What Was The Outcome?

The employer pleaded guilty to two offences and was fined £167,000. It was also ordered to pay £16,195 in costs. HSE had previously served prohibition notices in 2019 relating to stockpiling and the risk of collapse, and further enforcement action followed the inspection in 2022 through improvement notices requiring remedial action within a specified timescale.

Key Points To Consider

Provide effective segregation between pedestrians and vehicles. Where vehicles operate on site, ensure pedestrians have safe routes and crossing arrangements and do not end up sharing vehicle circulation routes without proper control measures.

Keep traffic management plans visible and accurate. If you use a traffic plan, it must be visible to staff and visitors and kept up to date as the site changes, including pedestrian movements to key areas such as toilets.

Control stack stability for large waste skips. Large skips can pose serious collapse and falling risks, so stacking arrangements need to prevent unsafe heights and unstable conditions such as deformed skips.

Avoid placing hazardous materials in areas people regularly access. Do not stockpile or position skips where workers are regularly present on foot or in vehicles unless risks are controlled so that collapse or falling cannot harm people.

Use prior enforcement as a trigger to act and review fully. Where enforcement has previously highlighted stockpiling and collapse risks, review controls promptly and ensure improvements are implemented effectively, not just planned.

HSE Prosecution Link