Waste Company Fined After Unsafe Skip Stacking and Weak Traffic Management

Brief Summary

HSE found multiple health and safety failings at a waste and recycling site, including skips stacked three high in places and inadequate segregation between pedestrians and vehicles. The company was prosecuted after improvement notices were issued following earlier enforcement action, and it was fined for breaching duties to keep people safe.

What Was The Incident?

During an HSE visit to a waste and recycling site, inspectors observed vehicles including tipper lorries and loading shovels being driven around the site, with no effective segregation of pedestrians from vehicles. The pedestrian entrance was chained and padlocked, forcing pedestrians to use the same route used by lorries and other vehicles. While a visual traffic plan existed, it was not visible to staff and visitors and was out of date because the site layout had changed, including key pedestrian movement to access toilets. Inspectors also found skips stacked unsafely, with some deformed skips and a stack height of three high in places. The skips were located in an area regularly accessed by workers, on foot or in vehicles, increasing the risk of collapse or falling.

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 enforcement included improvement notices requiring action within a specified timescale, and the case noted previous enforcement in 2019 involving prohibition notices relating to stockpiling and risk of collapse.

Key Points To Consider

Get pedestrian vehicle separation right on site. Ensure pedestrians have safe designated routes, crossings and segregation from vehicles, and do not rely on people sharing vehicle routes when vehicles manoeuvre around the yard.

Keep traffic management plans usable and up to date. A traffic plan only helps if it is visible to staff and visitors and reflects the current site layout, including how people move to key facilities such as toilets.

Prevent unsafe stockpiling and collapse of bulky items. Control how skips are stacked so they cannot become unstable, including checking for deformation and limiting stack height and location in areas where people regularly access the skip stores.

Act on enforcement and previous warnings. Where earlier prohibition or improvement action has been taken, treat it as confirmation of known risks and ensure the underlying controls are implemented across the whole site, not only partially.

Manage risks from reversing and vehicle movements. Where large vehicles need to reverse or move freely around busy areas, introduce additional precautions to protect people nearby and reduce the chance of serious harm if something goes wrong.

HSE Prosecution Link