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

Brief Summary

The HSE found multiple health and safety failures at a waste and recycling site, including skips piled up to three high in areas used by workers and poor segregation between vehicles and pedestrians. The employer had already faced enforcement action for similar risks, and after improvements were required it still pleaded guilty to offences, resulting in a fine and costs.

What Was The Incident?

During an HSE site visit, inspectors observed that vehicles were driven around the yard without effective control measures separating pedestrians from vehicles. The pedestrian entrance was secured, forcing pedestrians to use a route intended for lorries and other vehicles. Although a visual traffic plan existed, it was not visible to staff or visitors and was out of date because site layout changes were not reflected, including routes to welfare facilities. The inspection also identified skips that were unsafely stacked, including some deformed skips. In some areas the stacks were three high, increasing the likelihood of collapse or falling. Skips were stacked in an area regularly accessed by workers on foot or by vehicle, creating a risk of falling objects.

What Was The Outcome?

The employer pleaded guilty to two offences. It was fined £167,000 and ordered to pay £16,195 in costs. The case followed an earlier enforcement history, with prohibition notices served in 2019 relating to stockpiling and risks of collapse, and further improvement notices were issued after a subsequent HSE visit.

Key Points To Consider

Ensure pedestrians and vehicles are effectively separated. Provide clear pedestrian routes and crossing points and do not rely on chaining entrances that force people onto vehicle routes, especially where vehicles circulate freely across the site.

Keep site traffic plans visible and up to date. A traffic plan must be accessible to staff and visitors and must reflect current site layout and the real movement patterns of people, including routes to welfare facilities.

Control skip storage to prevent collapse and falling. Do not stack skips in a way that makes collapse or falling more likely, including when skips are deformed or the stack height increases instability.

Manage access to areas where falling objects could occur. Avoid placing stored loads in locations that people regularly use on foot or in vehicles, and treat stacked waste and similar items as a foreseeable falling object risk.

Act on prior enforcement and repeated legal duties. If you have already received enforcement action for stockpiling and collapse risks, you must review and strengthen controls without delay and verify effectiveness, not just compliance on paper.

HSE Prosecution Link