Waste Company Fined for Unsafe Skip Stockpiling and Poor Site Traffic Control

Brief Summary

A waste and recycling company was prosecuted after HSE found multiple health and safety failures on its site, including skips stacked three high with signs of deformation and poor segregation between vehicles and pedestrians. The employer had previously been subject to enforcement action, making the repeated failures particularly serious.

What Was The Incident?

HSE inspections at the site found vehicles and loading equipment being driven around freely. The pedestrian entrance was chained and padlocked, forcing pedestrians to use the same route as lorries and other vehicles, with no effective segregation through 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 Although a visual traffic plan existed, it was not visible to staff or visitors and was out of date because the site layout had changed, including pedestrian movements to toilets. HSE also found skips unsafely stacked in areas accessed regularly by workers. In some places the skips were stacked three high, with some skips deformed, increasing instability. HSE described the risk of collapse as potentially catastrophic, with the height and placement of the stacks creating additional risk of falling material.

What Was The Outcome?

The employer pleaded guilty to two offences. 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 later served requiring action within set timescales.

Key Points To Consider

Ensure effective vehicle and pedestrian segregation. Do not rely on informal arrangements when pedestrians and vehicles share circulation areas; provide clear designated pedestrian routes and crossing points so people are not directed onto the same routes as lorries and other moving vehicles.

Keep traffic management plans visible and up to date. A traffic plan must be accessible to staff and visitors and reflect current site layout and pedestrian movements, including routine access needs such as routes to welfare facilities.

Control reversing and plant movement with additional precautions. Where large vehicles reverse or where plant movements create significant interaction with people on site, employers should identify the specific risks and implement additional protective measures for anyone working nearby.

Prevent unsafe stockpiling and reduce collapse risk. Do not stack large items such as skips in ways that increase instability, including excessive stacking height or stacking where items are already deformed.

Act on enforcement history and address repeat issues. Previous enforcement action should trigger a review and corrective action, not a continuation of the same practices; failure to address known legal duties increases the seriousness of non compliance.

HSE Prosecution Link