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

Brief Summary

HSE found multiple health and safety management failures at a waste and recycling site, including skips piled three high in places and unsafe traffic arrangements that forced pedestrians to use vehicle routes. Enforcement action followed improvement notices and the company ultimately pleaded guilty and was fined.

What Was The Incident?

During an HSE visit on 11 August 2022, inspectors observed vehicles operating around the site without effective pedestrian vehicle segregation. The pedestrian entrance was chained and padlocked, so pedestrians had to use the same route as lorries and other vehicles. Although a visual traffic plan existed, it was not visible to staff or visitors, was out of date following changes to the site layout, and did not cover key pedestrian movements such as access to toilets across the yard. Inspectors also found skips unsafely stacked. Some skips were deformed, increasing instability, and stacks were three high in places, raising the likelihood of collapse or falling. The skips were stored in an area regularly accessed by workers either on foot or in vehicles, leaving people at risk if a skip fell.

What Was The Outcome?

HSE served improvement notices requiring action within a specified timescale. HSE later found the company had previously been subject to enforcement, including prohibition notices in 2019 relating to stockpiling and risks of collapse. The company pleaded guilty to two offences under s33(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 for failing to fulfil duties under sections 2 and 3 by exposing people on site to the risk of death or serious personal injury. The company was fined £167,000 and ordered to pay £16,195 in costs.

Key Points To Consider

Ensure pedestrians and vehicles are segregated effectively. Pedestrian routes should not be forced onto vehicle circulation areas, and designated routes or crossing points should be planned and maintained so people can move safely around the yard.

Keep traffic plans visible and current. A visual traffic plan only helps if it is accessible to staff and visitors and updated when the site configuration changes, including pedestrian movements to key facilities such as toilets.

Control the risk of collapse from stored waste skips. Check skip condition and stability and limit stacking arrangements so that deformation and excessive stack height do not create an unacceptable collapse risk, especially where workers regularly pass.

Avoid placing stored items where people are routinely located. Skips should not be stacked in areas regularly accessed by workers on foot or in vehicles, because falling risks can turn a storage issue into a major incident.

Treat previous enforcement as a prompt to improve for good. Where earlier prohibition or similar enforcement has already highlighted weaknesses, employers must demonstrate effective change and compliance rather than repeating the same failure patterns.

HSE Prosecution Link