Waste Company Fined After Unsafe Skip Stockpiling And Poor Traffic Management

Brief Summary

HSE found multiple health and safety management failures at a waste and recycling site, including skips stacked three high in areas accessed by workers and poor segregation of pedestrians from vehicles. Enforcement action followed after improvement notices were served, and the company pleaded guilty to offences linked to exposing people on site to risk of death or serious injury.

What Was The Incident?

Inspectors visiting the site observed tipper lorries and loading shovels being driven around the yard, with a pedestrian entrance chained and padlocked. Pedestrians were forced to use the same route as lorries and other vehicles, with no effective segregation using designated pedestrian routes or crossing points. Large vehicle movements also raised concerns about safety for people nearby, particularly where reversing is involved. Although a visual traffic plan existed, it was not visible to staff or visitors and was out of date because the yard layout had changed, so it did not address key pedestrian movements such as access to toilets across the yard. Inspectors also found skips unsafely stacked, with some deformed, increasing instability. In places the skips were stacked three high, heightening the likelihood of collapse or falling, and they were placed in an area regularly accessed by workers on foot or in vehicles.

What Was The Outcome?

After improvement notices were served requiring action within a specified timescale, HSE investigation found the company had previously faced enforcement action. Prohibition notices in 2019 had been served relating to stockpiling and risks of collapse. The company pleaded guilty to two offences under s33(1)(a). It was fined £167,000 and ordered to pay £16,195 costs.

Key Points To Consider

Ensure pedestrians and vehicles are effectively separated. Do not rely on shared routes when large vehicles and plant move around the site; provide designated pedestrian routes and safe crossing arrangements so people are not forced into vehicle areas.

Keep traffic plans visible, current and operational. A traffic plan must be visible to those who use the site and kept up to date when the site layout changes, including key pedestrian movements such as access to facilities.

Control skip storage to prevent collapse and falling. Treat skip stockpiling as a structured storage activity, addressing stability and condition so that damaged or deformed skips and excessive stacking heights do not create a fall or collapse risk.

Remove hazards from areas regularly used by workers. Do not place heavy containers in zones that workers access routinely on foot or in vehicles, because falling or collapsing hazards become far more severe when people are in the same space.

Learn from past enforcement and act early. Where enforcement action has already been taken, treat it as a clear warning to review and improve control measures rather than waiting for further notices or repeat failures.

HSE Prosecution Link