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

Brief Summary

HSE found multiple health and safety failures at a waste and recycling site, including skips stacked three high in areas accessed by workers and a lack of effective segregation between vehicles and pedestrians. The employer was previously subject to enforcement over stockpiling and collapse risks, making the repeated failures significant.

What Was The Incident?

HSE visited the site in August 2022 and observed vehicles and loading equipment moving around the yard, with no effective segregation between pedestrians and vehicles. The pedestrian entrance was secured, forcing pedestrians to use the vehicle route used by lorries and other vehicles, with no designated pedestrian routes or crossing points. HSE also found skips stacked unsafely, including deformed skips and stacks that were three high in places. The unstable stacking increased the likelihood of collapse or falling, and skips were positioned in an area regularly accessed by workers on foot or in vehicles.

What Was The Outcome?

After improvement notices were served following a further HSE visit 11 days later, the employer pleaded guilty to two offences. The company was fined £167,000 and ordered to pay £16,195 in costs.

Key Points To Consider

Ensure effective segregation between pedestrians and vehicles. Do not rely on informal routes. Provide designated pedestrian routes and safe crossing arrangements so people are not forced to use vehicle paths, especially where vehicles move frequently.

Control risks from reverse movements and shifting site traffic flow. Where large vehicles may need to reverse or manoeuvre around busy areas, plan additional precautions to protect people nearby, and make sure these precautions are implemented in practice.

Keep traffic management plans visible, current, and accurate. A plan on paper is not enough. Ensure traffic management information is visible to staff and visitors and updated when the site layout changes, including key pedestrian movements such as access to welfare facilities.

Prevent collapse and falling objects by managing stockpiling safely. Do not stack large waste skips in ways that compromise stability. Check condition, avoid unsafe stacking height and arrangements, and ensure skips are not stored where people regularly pass or access the area.

Act promptly on enforcement history and improvement requirements. If the business has previously received enforcement action relating to similar risks, treat it as a clear indicator to review and improve control measures rather than allowing known hazards to persist.

HSE Prosecution Link