Waste Company Fined for Unsafe Skip Stockpiling and Poor Vehicle Pedestrian Control

Brief Summary

HSE found multiple failures at a waste and recycling site, including skips stacked up to three high in areas workers accessed and a lack of effective segregation between pedestrians and vehicles. The enforcement action included improvement notices following an initial inspection, and the employer had previous prohibition notices related to stockpiling and collapse risks.

What Was The Incident?

During an HSE inspection at a waste and recycling yard, inspectors observed vehicles and plant moving around the site with pedestrians being forced to use the same entrance route used by lorries and other vehicles. The pedestrian entrance was chained and padlocked, and there were no effective designated pedestrian routes or crossing points to separate people from vehicles. Although a traffic plan existed, it was not visible to staff or visitors and it was out of date because the site layout had changed, including pedestrian movements to welfare facilities. Inspectors also found skips unsafely stacked, with some deformed and stacked three high in places. The stacking increased instability and the likelihood of collapse or falling, and the skips were located in areas regularly accessed by workers on foot or in vehicles.

What Was The Outcome?

The employer pleaded guilty to two offences for failing to fulfil duties under the Health and Safety at Work Act by placing people on site at risk of death and or serious personal injury. The company was fined £167,000 and ordered to pay £16,195 in costs. HSE previously served prohibition notices in 2019 relating to stockpiling and risks of collapse, and improvement notices were served after a further HSE visit 11 days later requiring action within a specified timescale.

Key Points To Consider

Keep pedestrians and vehicles genuinely separated. Design and implement clear pedestrian routes and crossing points so people do not have to use vehicle routes, particularly in busy yards with large vehicles and plant moving around freely.

Treat vehicle movement and reversing as a high risk activity. Where large vehicles must reverse, plan additional precautions to protect those working nearby and ensure arrangements are actually in place on the ground, not just in documents.

Keep traffic management controls current and visible. A visual traffic plan must reflect the live site layout and address key pedestrian movements, and it must be visible to staff and visitors so it can be used in real time.

Prevent collapse hazards from stockpiled skips. Do not stack skips in a way that creates instability or increases the chance of collapse or falling, and ensure deformed skips are not treated as acceptable without controls to remove or manage the risk.

Act quickly on improvement and previous enforcement. When improvement or other notices are served, implement the required actions within the timescale and learn from earlier enforcement, because repeat issues can lead to more serious consequences.

HSE Prosecution Link