Waste Company Fined After Unsafe Skip Stockpiling and Poor Traffic Management

Brief Summary

HSE found multiple health and safety failures at a waste and recycling site, including poor segregation of pedestrians and vehicles and skips being stockpiled up to three high in locations where workers regularly accessed them. The employer was fined after pleading guilty, with costs ordered to be paid.

What Was The Incident?

HSE inspectors visited the site and observed vehicles, including tipper lorries and loading shovels, being driven freely around the yard. The pedestrian entrance was chained and padlocked, forcing pedestrians to use the same route used by lorries and other vehicles. There was no effective segregation through designated pedestrian routes or crossing points. While the employer had a visual traffic plan, it was not visible to staff or visitors and was out of date because the site layout had changed, including for key pedestrian movements such as access to toilets. Inspectors also found skips stacked unsafely, with some deformed skips adding to instability. In places the stack height was three high, increasing the likelihood of collapse or falling. The skips were stacked in an area regularly accessed by workers on foot or in vehicles, exposing people to a significant risk of falling.

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 noted that the employer had previously been subject to enforcement action, including prohibition notices served in 2019 relating to stockpiling and risks of collapse.

Key Points To Consider

Segregate pedestrians and vehicles properly. Designated pedestrian routes and crossing points should be in place and effective, rather than relying on ad hoc walking routes through vehicle traffic areas.

Keep traffic plans visible and current. A traffic plan is only useful if people can see it and it reflects the current site layout and pedestrian movements, not an earlier configuration.

Control reversing and vehicle movements with extra precautions. Where large vehicles move around or must reverse, employers should consider additional precautions to protect those nearby and implement them when needed.

Prevent collapse by managing how skips are stacked. Avoid unsafe stockpiling arrangements, especially where skips are deformed or stacked to heights that increase the risk of collapse or falling.

Keep hazardous materials away from frequent access areas. Do not place unstable stacks in areas that workers regularly use on foot or by vehicle, and review arrangements in light of prior enforcement and improvement expectations.

HSE Prosecution Link