Waste Employer Fined After Dangerous Skip Stockpiling and Poor Traffic Management

Brief Summary

HSE found multiple health and safety failures at a waste and recycling site, including skips stacked up to three high with instability risks and ineffective separation between pedestrians and vehicles. The employer had been previously subject to enforcement action for related matters, and it was fined after pleading guilty to offences.

What Was The Incident?

HSE visited the site and observed vehicles and loading equipment moving around freely while pedestrian routes were not safely segregated from vehicle movements. The pedestrian entrance was secured, forcing pedestrians to use the vehicle entrance route. Staff and visitors did not have adequate access routes and there were no effective designated pedestrian routes or crossing points. Although a visual traffic plan existed, it was not visible to staff or visitors and was out of date after site changes, including missing important pedestrian movements such as access across the yard to toilets. Inspectors also found skips stacked in an unsafe way, including some that were deformed, increasing instability. In places, the stack was three high, which increased the risk of collapse or falling. The skips were located in an area regularly accessed by workers on foot and in vehicles, placing people at significant risk.

What Was The Outcome?

The employer was prosecuted for failing to fulfil duties to protect people on site from risk of death or serious personal injury, and it pleaded guilty to two offences. It was fined £167,000 and ordered to pay £16,195 in costs.

Key Points To Consider

Separate pedestrians and vehicles in a way people can actually use. Ensure there are designated pedestrian routes and safe crossing arrangements so pedestrians do not share or are forced into vehicle routes.

Keep traffic management information current and visible. If you rely on a traffic plan, confirm it is accessible to staff and visitors and updated when site layouts or movement patterns change.

Control risks from reversing and vehicle movement. Where large vehicles reverse or circulate around the site, provide suitable additional precautions for people working or moving nearby.

Stop unsafe stacking of heavy waste containers. Do not allow skips to be piled in a way that creates instability, including stacks that are too high or containers that are deformed.

Learn from enforcement history and act quickly on warnings. If you have been issued improvement notices or previously faced enforcement for similar risks, treat this as a clear signal to correct underlying system failures, not just immediate defects.

HSE Prosecution Link