Waste Company Fined for Unsafe Skip Stockpiling and Weak Traffic Management

Brief Summary

HSE found multiple health and safety failures at a waste and recycling site, including skips stacked three high in areas used by workers and poor segregation between vehicles and pedestrians. The employer had been subject to earlier enforcement related to stockpiling and collapse risks, but these risks were still not effectively controlled.

What Was The Incident?

Inspectors visited the site and observed vehicles and loading equipment moving around freely, with pedestrians unable to use a separate entrance because it was chained and padlocked. Pedestrians were forced to use the same route as lorries and other vehicles, with no effective designated pedestrian routes or crossing points. The employer had a visual traffic plan, but it was not visible to staff or visitors and was out of date because site arrangements had changed, including access routes to toilets. Inspectors also found skips stacked unsafely, with some deformed and stacked three high in places. The instability and the height increased the risk of collapse or items falling, and the skips were placed in areas regularly accessed by workers on foot and by vehicles.

What Was The Outcome?

The employer pleaded guilty to two offences and was fined £167,000, with £16,195 ordered for costs. HSE also had previously served prohibition notices in 2019 relating to stockpiling and risks of collapse, and improvement notices were served after the 2022 inspection requiring action within a specified timescale.

Key Points To Consider

Control pedestrian and vehicle routes properly. Do not allow pedestrians to rely on the vehicle route when traffic and reversing are present; provide clear designated pedestrian routes and crossing points, and ensure everyone on site can use them safely.

Keep traffic management plans current and usable. A traffic plan must be visible to those who need it and updated when site layouts change, so it reflects key pedestrian movements and access routes such as toilets.

Prevent skip stack collapse by eliminating unsafe stockpiling. Where skips are heavy and can become deformed, set and enforce safe stacking arrangements and location controls to prevent collapse or falling materials in areas where workers operate or pass.

Act quickly after enforcement and improvement notices. Improvement notices set a timescale for required changes, and compliance must be delivered within that window by addressing the specific risks identified.

Prior enforcement should drive lasting improvements. If a business has previously been warned or prohibited for similar stockpiling and collapse hazards, it should treat this as a prompt to review and strengthen controls rather than repeating the same failures.

HSE Prosecution Link