Waste Company Fined After Unsafe Skip Stockpiling and Poor Traffic Management

Brief Summary

The Health and Safety Executive found multiple breaches at a waste and recycling site, including poor segregation between pedestrians and vehicles and skips stacked in a way that increased the risk of collapse or falling. The company pleaded guilty to offences and was fined after earlier enforcement action had already highlighted similar risks.

What Was The Incident?

Inspectors visited a waste and recycling site and observed vehicles, including tipper lorries and loading shovels, circulating freely around the premises. The pedestrian entrance was chained and padlocked, forcing pedestrians to use the same route as lorries and other vehicles. There were no effective designated pedestrian routes or crossing points to manage vehicle movements safely. The company also had a visual traffic plan, but it was not visible to staff or visitors and was out of date because the site layout had changed. Inspectors identified missing pedestrian considerations, including safe access across the yard to toilets. In addition, skips were stacked unsafely, with some deformed skips contributing to instability. In places the stack was three high, increasing the likelihood of collapse or a skip falling. The skips were located in an area regularly accessed by workers on foot or in vehicles, creating a high risk to people nearby.

What Was The Outcome?

The company pleaded guilty to two offences under s33(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. It was fined 167,000 and ordered to pay 16,195 in costs. HSE also served improvement notices requiring the company to remedy breaches within a set timescale, and the investigation noted previous enforcement action including prohibition notices in 2019 relating to skip stockpiling and collapse risk.

Key Points To Consider

Segregate pedestrians from vehicles on site. Use clear designated pedestrian routes and crossing points so people do not have to share routes intended for lorries and other vehicles.

Keep traffic management arrangements visible and current. A traffic plan must be readily available to staff and visitors and updated when the site layout changes so it still reflects real pedestrian movements.

Control reversing and vehicle movements with extra precautions. Where large vehicles reverse, plan for additional measures to protect those working nearby, including preventing pedestrians from being placed in vehicle circulation areas.

Prevent dangerous stacking of skips and remove unstable materials. Do not stack skips in a way that creates a collapse risk, and take account of factors that affect stability, such as deformation, stacking height, and where skips are placed.

Learn from previous enforcement and act promptly. If improvement notices and prior enforcement have already identified legal duties, treat this as a clear signal that controls must be implemented effectively and sustained.

HSE Prosecution Link