Waste Company Fined After Unsafe Skip Stockpiling and Weak Site Traffic Control

Brief Summary

HSE found multiple health and safety failures at a waste and recycling site, including inadequate segregation between vehicles and pedestrians and skips being stockpiled in a way that increased the risk of collapse or falling. The company was fined for offences and had previously received enforcement action related to similar risks.

What Was The Incident?

On 11 August 2022, HSE inspectors visited a waste and recycling site where vehicles and loading equipment were driven around the yard, but pedestrian control was weak. The pedestrian entrance was chained and padlocked, so pedestrians were forced to use a route also used by lorries and other vehicles. There was no effective segregation through designated pedestrian routes or crossing points. The company had a visual traffic plan, but it was not visible to staff or visitors and was out of date because the site layout had changed, so it did not reflect key pedestrian movements such as access to toilets. Inspectors also found skips stacked unsafely. Some skips were deformed, the stack was up to three high in places, and the stacking was in an area regularly accessed by workers on foot or in vehicles, increasing the likelihood of collapse or objects falling.

What Was The Outcome?

The employer pleaded guilty to two offences under s33(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 for failing to fulfil duties under sections 2 and 3 by putting people on site at risk of death and serious personal injury. The company was fined £167,000 and ordered to pay £16,195 costs. HSE served improvement notices and carried out a further visit 11 days later, and the investigation found the company had previously been subject to enforcement action, including prohibition notices in 2019 relating to stockpiling and risks of collapse.

Key Points To Consider

Implement effective vehicle and pedestrian separation. Ensure pedestrians have safe routes that do not rely on using the same access as lorries and other vehicles, with clear designated routes and crossing points where needed.

Keep traffic plans visible and up to date. A plan is not enough if people cannot see it or if it no longer matches the yard layout and pedestrian movements after changes to the site.

Control reversing and vehicle movements with additional precautions. Where large vehicles must reverse or manoeuvre around people, assess the risks and put additional measures in place to protect those working nearby.

Prevent dangerous stockpiling and unsafe stacking of heavy items. Do not allow skips to be stacked in ways that make collapse or falling more likely, particularly where skips are deformed, stacked high, or placed in areas that workers regularly access.

Act on prior enforcement and improvement notices promptly. If enforcement action has already identified similar risks, treat it as a clear warning to review and fix the underlying controls rather than repeating the same failures.

HSE Prosecution Link