Waste Company Fined After Unsafe Skip Stockpiling and Poor Vehicle Pedestrian Segregation

Brief Summary

HSE inspected a waste and recycling site and found multiple health and safety management failures, including skips stacked three high in places, poor pedestrian and vehicle segregation, and traffic arrangements that were not effective or up to date. The employer pleaded guilty to offences and was fined following a further investigation after improvement notices were served.

What Was The Incident?

During an HSE visit in August 2022, inspectors observed vehicles and loading equipment moving around the site without effective separation from people. The pedestrian entrance was chained and padlocked, forcing pedestrians to use the same route as lorries and other vehicles, with no designated pedestrian routes or crossing points. Inspectors also found skips stacked unsafely, with some deformed and an increased stack height of three high in places. The skip stack was located in an area regularly accessed by workers on foot or in vehicles, creating a risk of collapse or falling skips.

What Was The Outcome?

After improvement notices required action within specified timescales, HSE investigated further and found the employer had previously been subject to enforcement, including prohibition notices in 2019 concerning stockpiling and risks of collapse. The employer pleaded guilty to two offences and was fined £167,000 with £16,195 costs ordered at Southwark Crown Court on 5 May 2026.

Key Points To Consider

Ensure people and vehicles are segregated in practice. Plan routes so pedestrians do not share vehicle circulation areas, and provide effective designated pedestrian routes and crossing points rather than relying on shared access.

Keep traffic plans current and usable. A visual traffic plan must be visible to staff and visitors and updated when the site configuration changes, including changes to how people need to access areas such as toilet facilities.

Do not stockpile skips in a way that can collapse. Avoid unsafe stacking, including stacking that increases instability through height and deformation, and control placement so skips are not stored in regularly accessed areas.

Learn and improve after earlier enforcement. If prohibition or other enforcement has previously highlighted risks, treat it as a clear warning to review and strengthen controls, not as a one off correction.

Plan for the realities of reversing and site movements. Where large vehicles reverse or pedestrians work near traffic, employers must implement additional precautions to protect people working nearby, aligned with the specific movement patterns on the site.

HSE Prosecution Link