Waste Company Fined for Dangerous Skip Stockpiling and Poor Traffic Management

Brief Summary

The Health and Safety Executive found multiple workplace health and safety failures at a waste site, including skips stacked up to three high in areas where people regularly accessed. Poor segregation between pedestrians and vehicles, an ineffective traffic plan, and unsafe skip stability controls left workers and others at risk of serious injury, with enforcement action previously taken for related issues.

What Was The Incident?

At a waste and recycling site, inspectors observed vehicles and machinery being driven around the yard with no effective segregation between pedestrians and vehicles. The pedestrian entrance was chained and padlocked, forcing pedestrians to use the same route used by lorries and other vehicles, without designated pedestrian routes or crossing points. Although the company had a visual traffic plan, it was not visible to staff or visitors and had become out of date after changes to the site layout, so it did not cover key pedestrian movements. Inspectors also found skips stacked in an unsafe way, with some deformed and stacked up to three high in places. The stacked skips were located in areas regularly accessed by workers on foot or in vehicles, increasing the risk of collapse or 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. The company was fined £167,000 and ordered to pay £16,195 in costs. The HSE had previously served prohibition notices in 2019 relating to stockpiling and risks of collapse, and improvement notices were served following a further visit after the initial findings.

Key Points To Consider

Separate pedestrians and vehicles effectively. Plan and implement clear pedestrian routes, crossing points and segregation so people are not forced to share traffic routes with lorries and other vehicles.

Keep traffic management information current and visible. Ensure traffic plans are actually available to staff and visitors and updated when the site layout changes, including changes that affect how people move to key facilities.

Control the risks from stored skips and their stability. Treat the size and weight of skips as a serious collapse risk and avoid stacking arrangements that increase instability, such as deformed skips or unsafe stacking heights.

Location matters for stored materials. Do not stockpile skips in areas that are regularly accessed by workers on foot or in vehicles, since this increases the likelihood of someone being struck if items fall or collapse.

Act on prior enforcement and improvement notices. If you have previously been warned by regulators about stockpiling and collapse risks, use that knowledge to strengthen controls and close gaps rather than allowing the same hazards to persist.

HSE Prosecution Link