Waste Company Fined After Unsafe Skip Stockpiling and Poor Traffic Segregation

Brief Summary

HSE found multiple health and safety failures at a South East London waste and recycling site, including skips stacked three high in areas workers had to access and a lack of effective segregation between vehicles and pedestrians. The employer was ordered to pay a financial penalty and costs after pleading guilty to two offences.

What Was The Incident?

During an HSE visit on 11 August 2022, inspectors observed vehicles and loading equipment moving around the site with no effective segregation between pedestrians and vehicles. The pedestrian entrance was chained and padlocked, so pedestrians had to use the vehicle route used by lorries and other vehicles. Although a visual traffic plan existed, it was not visible to staff and visitors and had become out of date after changes to the site layout, so it did not address key pedestrian movements. Inspectors also found skips stacked unsafely, with some deformed and stacked three high in places. The stacking increased the likelihood of collapse or items falling, and the skips were located in an area regularly accessed by workers on foot or by vehicle, creating a significant risk of serious harm.

What Was The Outcome?

The employer pleaded guilty to two offences under section 33(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work Act. It was fined £167,000 and ordered to pay £16,195 in costs. HSE had previously served prohibition notices in 2019 relating to stockpiling and risks of collapse, and improvement notices were served following the August 2022 findings to require corrective action within a set timescale.

Key Points To Consider

Segregate pedestrians and vehicles with clear routes. Organise site traffic so pedestrians and vehicles can circulate safely, including designated pedestrian routes and suitable crossing points, rather than forcing people to share vehicle routes.

Keep traffic management information current and accessible. Ensure any traffic plan is visible to staff and visitors and is updated when site configurations change, so it accurately covers how people move around the yard including routes to welfare such as toilets.

Control hazards from stacking heavy items. When storing large skips or similar heavy materials, prevent unsafe stacking and instability by addressing factors that increase collapse or falling risk, including deformed items and stacking height.

Do not place hazardous storage where people must pass. Avoid storing skips and other potentially unstable items in areas regularly accessed by workers on foot or in vehicles, as this places them within the consequences of a possible collapse.

Use enforcement history to drive genuine compliance. If the business has previously been subject to prohibition action for related failings, treat that as a clear warning and ensure procedures and site arrangements are fully implemented and maintained rather than only partially addressed.

HSE Prosecution Link